Mid-90s. Chicago. Bands across the city were swept up in a record company feeding frenzy the likes of which we’d never see again. You know the names of some of the bands, as a handful were able to establish a fairly large footprint. Others have sadly faded into the ether.

Somewhere closer to the latter of those two distinctions is one of my favorite artists of that era: Pulsars… a band that got one album on Almo sounds, the label started by the guys who founded A&M Records.

Almo did okay out of the chute with a band called Garbage in 1995, and it served to reason that perhaps Pulsars… Dave and Harry Trumfio… would follow down that road to success when their debut came out in 1997.

Alas, they only got one album out of Almo, and their plans for world domination quietly fizzled out at the turn of the century.

Well, they’re back. Kinda. Lost Transmissions is a collection of song versions that Almo rejected, some unreleased stuff and general stuff that’s been sitting on the shelf.

Joining me tonight is Pulsar Dave Trumfio, a guy whose career as a music producer started before Pulsars put out their album, and has continued to skyrocket ever since. He’s worked with Wilco, OK GO, the Mekons, Built to Spill, Pigface, My Morning Jacket, the Rentals, Grandaddy, and Wayne Kramer.