One of the jokes I’ve heard about Sarge went something like the old refrain of “Alwayss the bridesmaid, never the bride.” Sure, they opened for every band in Chicago and then some, but a headlining spot? Which is a crying shame, because in the pop-punk sweepstakes of the late 90s, Sarge had the smarts, the hooks and, by the end of their career, the noise.

The adage about artists only becoming famous after they’re dead rings true here; arguably, more has been written about Sarge’s breakup album, Distant, than their other two albums combined. It’s only been in hindsight that critics and fans have come to realize just how affecting Elizabeth Elmore’s songwriting has been, just how propulsive they came to be on The Glass Intact, just how much they missed Sarge opeening for the next big thing in Illinois. “Detroit Star-Lite” would’ve made it on their next album proper, along with three other orphaned songs on Distant, had Elmore not decided to dissolve the band after graduating from law school.

Elmore has since formed a new band, the Reputation, and released two albums of glossy, more mainstream pop-punk. The new formula does seem to have given them more exposure, and the press from Sarge’s dissolution certainly helped. The slick sound, however, has arguably made the Reputation less notable than Sarge, and only on selected tracks like “Alaskan” does the Elmore of old shine through. Not that “Detroit Star-Lite” isn’t pretty slick itself, but at least you’d recognize immediately who it was if you ever heard it on the radio.