Sarge was an indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band from Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. They released three albums on Mud Records.

History

The band was formed in 1996. Led by singer/songwriter Elizabeth Elmore

Elizabeth Elmore

Elizabeth Elmore is an American singer/songwriter, recently with the rock bands The Reputation and Sarge.Elmore formed Sarge in 1996, and the band broke up in 1999...

, the band did some touring and released their debut album Charcoal on Mud Records. A single from that album, "Dear Josie, Love Robyn," received some exposure and media attention as the band toured the United States.

In 1998, they released a breakthrough record of sorts, The Glass Intact. The album, an emotional, punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

-style record, began to receive some serious media attention, being reviewed at Salon.com

Salon.com

Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

 and making Spin

Spin (magazine)

Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

s top twenty list in 1998. The album eventually sold nearly 20,000 copies.

In 2000, Sarge split up for reasons unknown, although Elmore denies it was her choice. Sometime bassist Rachel Switzky played bass on and off in different bands, and drummer Chad Romanski continued working with Elmore by playing drums on the debut release of later band, The Reputation

The Reputation

The Reputation were an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band was fronted by former Sarge singer-songwriter Elizabeth Elmore, with other positions filled by various members....

. Elmore was able to pull together some rare and unreleased material and create the third and final Sarge album, Distant

Distant (album)

Distant is the final posthumous album by Champaign, Illinois indie rock band Sarge. Released in 2000 on Mud Records, it features three demo versions of unreleased songs, six live songs, three cover songs, and two solo acoustic numbers by lead singer Elizabeth Elmore.-Track listing:#"Detroit...

, from it.

Discography

Sarge released albums on Mud Records, as well as released a number of singles.

Albums

• Charcoal
  Charcoal (album)
  Charcoal is the debut album by Champaign, Illinois indie rock band Sarge. It was released in 1996 on Mud Records, and featured the single "Dear Josie, Love Robyn."-Track listing:#"Smoke"#"Backlash"#"Dear Josie, Love Robyn"#"Chicago"#"Crush"...
  
   (CD/LP) – Mud Records (1996)
• The Glass Intact
  The Glass Intact
  The Glass Intact is the second album by the Champaign, Illinois indie rock band Sarge. It was released in 1998 on Mud Records.The album was somewhat of a breakout hit, getting a feature-length review at Salon.com and the Village Voice, and causing the band to become a 1998 "Hot Band" in Rolling...
  
   (CD/LP) – Mud Records (1998)
• Distant
  Distant (album)
  Distant is the final posthumous album by Champaign, Illinois indie rock band Sarge. Released in 2000 on Mud Records, it features three demo versions of unreleased songs, six live songs, three cover songs, and two solo acoustic numbers by lead singer Elizabeth Elmore.-Track listing:#"Detroit...
  
   (CD) – Mud Records (2000)

Singles

• "Dear Josie, Love Robyn"/"The Last Boy" (7") – Mud Records (1996)
• "Stall"/"Time After Time
  Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper song)
  "Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remained there for two weeks...
  
  " (7") – Mud Records (1998)