Castor - Moving Backgrounds [2 LP Orange & Transparent]

Moving Backgrounds by Castor finally gives one of the Midwest's great underground secrets the full vinyl treatment it deserves. Bringing together the band's entire recorded output on vinyl for the first time, this 2025 collection highlights, after a long wait, a group that quietly carved its own path through the fertile Champaign-Urbana scene of the 1990s.

Emerging alongside influential peers like Hum and Braid, Castor has never been confined to just one genre. Their 1995 self-titled debut explored patient, experimental slow-core textures, while Tracking Sounds Alone from 1997 leaned toward a dreamier, post-shoegaze sound, filled with layered guitars and atmospheric depth. Across both albums, the band balanced introspection and ambition, creating music that was equally suited to headphones and dimly lit clubs.

This 2LP box set includes a newly remastered version of Castor, as well as a reimagined remix of Tracking Sounds Alone by singer and guitarist Jeff Garber. Seminal songs from both eras reveal a band fascinated by mood, space and subtle emotional variations, with shimmering guitars and thoughtful arrangements that anticipated many of the sounds indie rock would embrace in later years. Five bonus tracks delve even deeper into the story, providing an even more complete picture of Castor's creative evolution.

Pressed on 180 gram orange and transparent vinyl, Moving Backgrounds also includes new artwork by Andy Mueller, the original album art, and detailed liner notes. It's a beautifully assembled archival release that celebrates a band whose influence quietly resonates well beyond their brief period of original activity.

List of titles

LP1 - Castor S/T

1. Anecdotes
2. Pontiac
3. Grind In Motion
4. Ceremal Frame
5. Dust Gun
6. Trans
7. The Package
8. Baroque
9. Silent Type
10. Regrowth
11. Carnival (7 Version)
12. Miss Atlantic

LP2 - Tracking Sounds Alone 

1. Stay Lo
2. Moving Backgrounds
3. Trackstar
4. Five Hours Later
5. carnival
6. The Halo Befriends Me
7. 1000 Miles From Nowhere
8. Above Water
9. Tracking Sounds Alone
10. Untitled