Math-rock trio A Minor Forest formed in San Francisco in 1992, and comprised guitarist/vocalist Erik Hoversten, bassist John Trevor Benson and drummer Andee Connors. Forging a noisy, melancholy sound closer in spirit to midwestern post-rock than the dominant punk aesthetic of the Bay Area, the band struggled to build a local following, and when an offer to record an LP finally arrived, it came courtesy of Chicago-based Thrill Jockey.

Recorded by Steve Albini, A Minor Forest's debut LP Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996) earned strong critical notice, and after a series of singles and compilation tracks, the group issued Inindependence two years later.

A November 1, 1998 hometown show at the Great American Music Hall was A Minor Forest's last, with the posthumous rarities collection …So They Were in Some Sort of Fight? appearing on My Pal God a year later.

Hoversten continued on with his side project the Threnody Ensemble, while Benson and Connors reunited in Ticwar.