Alarms and Controls

Alarms & Controls formed in Washington, D.C. during the fall of 2010. The band's roots go back further, though, to 2003, when guitarist Chris Hamley (Antimony, Circus Lupus) and drummer Vin Novara (The Crownhate Ruin, 1.6 Band) were performing in an ensemble accompanying Nitrate Hymnal, a post-rock opera created by writer/composer Bob Massey. After the production closed, they decided to try writing some songs together, but the project dissolved after only a few practices. It wasn't until eight years later — when Hamley finally returned to Novara's house to retrieve his amplifier — that they decided to give it another go, eventually recruiting Michael Honch to play bass. In 2012, the trio released a single, Reanimus Cataract b/w Kirtland's Warbler, as a split between Dischord and Mud Memory Records.

In November, 2013, the band released its first full-length record, Clovis Points — 11 songs recorded at the Magpie Cage in Baltimore with J. Robbins (Jawbox, Office of Future Plans) — as a split between Dischord and Lovitt Records.

Following the recording sessions, Honch left the group to pursue a graduate degree, handing bass duties over to Arthur Noll.

Photo: Nalinee Darmrong