Dan Matz and Jason McNeely go way back. As in junior high school, Tampa, 1982. "Apparently, he was enamored with my rat tail," says Matz. "It was never a mullet — more of a Johnny Slash mess."

"I think I liked him because of his rock 'n' roll mullet and the Van Halen and Psychedelic Furs pins on his jacket," explains McNeely. "I always wanted him to be the singer in my imaginary rock 'n' roll band. Who knew he would be, all these years later?"

Twelve years passed before the pair's high school cover band (a little bit of Bauhaus, with a dash of The Jesus and Mary Chain) could evolve into the haunting, post-everything duo Windsor for the Derby. By then, McNeely and Matz had moved to Austin, Texas. There they crafted Calm Hades Float, a debut heavy on the ambient haze and post-rock histrionics. But it wasn't long before Matz got antsy and left for New York City, setting off years of songwriting via traded tapes. Every time an album felt ready for recording, they'd meet up in the same city and complete it. But otherwise, it was a Postal Service situation (only much, much darker — with resonant commentaries on the human condition and hushed vocals taking the place of high-school-locker lyrics and syrupy vocals). At least up until last year, when Matz, McNeely and contributor Anna Neighbor (on keys and bass, now a full-time member) decided to take up a permanent residence in Philadelphia. The move was motivated by Neighbor's acceptance into Temple's grad program, as she's lived with Matz for seven years.

Now that they finally feel settled, with a gloriously gloomy new record out, Giving Up the Ghost (Secretly Canadian), and even a permanent drummer, Charlie Hall, we thought we'd return Matz and McNeely to their virtual roots by moderating a discussion between the two via e-mail.

City Paper: You've been playing together for 11 years now. What are the high and low points so far?
Dan Matz: Fortunately, there have been far more high points than low. I think the lowest point we had was the six-week tour we did for The Emotional Rescue LP. Everyone was on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the start of the tour — some far more than others. By the end of the tour, no one was talking to each other. Somehow it made the drive from Chicago to New York just breeze by.
Jason McNeely: Absolute high: playing in Rome. Absolute low: not making enough money on tour to buy coffee in Knoxville, Tenn., despite having a great show.

CP: Italian horror films and Civil War death notices supposedly informed this album. How?
DM: Critics always latch onto [the] now. It's one of the reasons we insisted that no other bands be used in our one-sheets: The critic invariably compares us to whoever that may be, no matter how disparate the band. I think Jason may have been watching a bunch of Italian horror films at the time (I was on a Japanese horror kick). And I happened to be reading a book of letters from Civil War soldiers written as they were dying. The point is that everything influences our art. It could be the teenaged fistfight that broke out in front of my house last night, or a note from a friend.
JM: Last winter, I was watching a lot of Mario Bava and Dario Argento movies. I started hearing the soundtracks of those movies coming out in songs we were writing, like "Empathy For People Unknown." I think we connected to the light spookiness of those soundtracks — the weird noises and organ sounds naturally blend with our ideas. We were thinking about doing artwork that was similar to the old Dario Argento movie posters when we met Sarah Gamble, an artist in Philadelphia who had done a series of paintings that matched the aesthetic we were looking for. It helped to coordinate the Give Up the Ghost, spooky Italian horror theme.

CP: Your bio also makes several references to how your music reacts to the current cultural climate. So summarize that climate for us in a sentence.
DM: It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.
JM: To hell with poverty!

CP: What do you think of Philadelphia so far? Apparently, it's the "sixth borough," at least according to The New York Times.
DM: I initially wasn't too excited about moving to Philly, but the first day, I knew Philly felt right. That's what I like about this city: It surprises you all of the time. Because Philly is so neighborhood-based, it gives it this sort of small-town vibe, but in a big city. Anna and I were involved with that Times article about "the next borough." The story ended up like no one expected, which is unfortunate. It couldn't just say that Philly was a great town on a comeback. It had to be backhanded with the absolute false idea that Philly needs New York. I love how they closed it with a Chelsea gallery owner saying he wouldn't come to Philly. I'm not sure that's a bad thing.
JM: I wouldn't compare Philly to NYC or call it "the sixth borough!" I think that's unfair and it puts Philly in NYC's shadow. Philly is a unique city that has a lot to offer that other cities don't. I'm very happy that I moved here. Every day it just gets more interesting to me.

Fri., Sept. 9, 9 p.m., $5, with The Capitol Years, Hi-Soft, Bloodfeathers and DJ Doug Wallen, Silk City, 500 Spring Garden St., 215-592-8838. Part of the Philebrity Weekender, more info at www.philebrity.com.