In 1991, Bachmann joined forces with guitarist Eric Johnson, bassist Matt Gentling, and drummer Mark Price to form Archers of Loaf.

All originally from Asheville, North Carolina, the band is associated with the influential 1990s Chapel Hill independent rock scene alongside Superchunk and Polvo.

Crooked Fingers signed to Merge Records and released an EP of covers, Reservoir Songs (2002), and the full-length albums Red Devil Dawn (2003) and Dignity and Shame (2005).

This re-release, however, coincided with Bachmann's retiring of the moniker and was marked by two shows in NYC and Durham, NC, where he played the two albums in their entirety with string musicians.

[7] In January 2011, Archers of Loaf reunited for an unannounced set at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina, opening for local act the Love Language.

Featuring collaborators such as Caleb Southern and Ben Folds, the Barry Black releases challenged any notion of pigeonholing him as solely a rock musician.

Self-recorded over five days while at the Outer Banks, the record is primarily Bachmann completely solo but features contributions from Miranda Brown (backing vocals) and DeVotchKa's Tom Hagerman (violin).

[14] On September 7, 2018, he released No Recover[15] and embarked on a tour of both clubs and full-band living room shows produced by Undertow Music.