Our occasional series “Secret History” features profiles of classic D.C. albums as a way of looking back at the District’s contributions to music over time. In this installment, DCist speaks with the Most Secret Method about their debut LP, the blistering post-hardcore collection Get Lovely (Slowdime, 1998).

In the 1990s, one of D.C.’s signature musical styles was a potent strain of post-hardcore indie rock built around fearsomely tight rhythms, jagged guitar riffery and desperately delivered vocals. Indebted to the city’s punk forefathers – your Minor Threats, your Bad Brains, your Government Issues, to name but a few – and post-punk pioneers – your Rites of Springs, your Jawboxes, and your Fugazis, to name but a few more – this “D.C. sound” signified sonic muscle and keen-eyed focus, but with a healthy interest in hooks and memorable melodies.

And of all the great D.C. groups pumping out the D.C. sound in the inter-Bush years, the Most Secret Method were one of the greatest. A power trio in the grand tradition, Johanna Claasen (bass, vocals) and brothers Marc Nelson (guitar, vocals) and Ryan Nelson (drums) produced some truly epic noise via a pared-down approach. Utterly fat-free and without any wasted motion, the Most Secret Method’s output was high-water mark for the area scene, unerringly smart, uncannily accomplished, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Founded in 1995, the Most Secret Method were acutely aware of D.C.’s punk and post-punk history, and found the area scene to be extremely vibrant. Says Ryan, “I think to a large extent the D.C. musicians of the ‘90s were influenced by the Revolution Summer bands. I certainly was. And by the time we got around to forming our own bands, there was still an active underground community – a network of places to play and kids to stay with around the country. It was exciting. And with that kind of energy, there were tons of bands forming and people moving to D.C. from other cities.”