Parton and Amber, who had previously worked together in the bands Mohinder and Calm, self-released two cassettes that year, On the Dodge and Christmas Dust, as well as a 7", Transmission, Flux, on Up Records in 1997.

Beginning with 1999's 1975 EP, Albertini became much more involved in the group's process, playing many more instruments and sharing recording/producing credits with Parton and Amber.

Parton started a record label, The Static Cult, which released his new project Eiafuawn as well as Albertini's band Helvetia.

[17] Following the release, Parton announced that Albertini had left Duster to focus on his indie rock project Helvetia,[18] although Albertini stated in the liner notes of the Bandcamp release of his 2023 album, You shot up past the moon scapegoat, that it was more complicated and his departure was due to mental health.

[20][21] The band released two albums under the pseudonym Valium Aggelein in 1996 and 1997 respectively which were later re-released as a box set, Black Moon, by Numero Group in 2020.

[9] In 2019, Vice wrote that, "Before Bandcamp-born songwriters like (Sandy) Alex G and Mitski legitimized inward-peering indie rock for the modern age, Duster penned the operations manual.

This coincided with a broader revival of interest in the shoegaze and slowcore genres with young people, an effect also largely attributed to TikTok.

"[25] That perception had changed by 2023, when Eli Enis of Stereogum wrote, "Duster are, improbably, a legitimately big band, and their success is directly related to the boom-time that shoegaze and slowcore (the genres they blur) are currently enduring.