the fall of 2007, Clark became gravely ill, stricken with viral cardiomyopathy, a rare condition resulting from a virus invading and inflaming the heart. The origin of the virus was unknown. Clark did not reveal his illness until February, 2008, when he underwent emergency open heart surgery to save his life. The surgery was successful and Clark spent the next two years recovering and making music privately. Return to public work (2009–2010) In the fall of 2009, Clark founded a Washington, DC, performance series called Story/Stereo. Taking place at the Writer’s Center, the series blended literature and music with Clark as curator and host. The series received an endowment from the NEA. In January, 2010, the band wrote and recorded the score for a play called suicide.chat.room. The work was a collaboration with choreographer Paulina Guerrero and director Marcus Kyd. The music for suicide.chat.room found favor with critics, with The A.V. Club calling it "brilliant and vividly balletic", The Washington Post calling it "smartly evocative" and the City Paper calling it "lyrical and convulsive, channeling [the spirit of the play] perfectly." The Immersive Ideal project In 2012, Beauty Pill was commissioned by Artisphere, a DC art museum, to record its new album in view of the public. In so doing, the band turned their recording process into a public art exhibit. The resulting recording would later be released as an album. 2015 releases In 2015, Beauty Pill released the full-length LP Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are, the result of the Immersive Ideal recording sessions, as well as a vinyl reissue of The Cigarette Girl from the Future. In a performance for NPR's Tiny Desk, the band performed songs from the new record, using the monome as a sample sequencer. 2016-2019 In 2016 and 2017, the band went on tour with Arto Lindsay, playing mostly museums and art spaces. Jean Cook was replaced by Erin Nelson in fall 2018. In February 2020, the band released the 2010 soundtrack to suicide.chat.room. The album is titled Sorry You're Here. Discography Albums The Unsustainable Lifestyle (2004) Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are (2015) Extended plays The Cigarette Girl from the Future (2001) You Are Right to Be Afraid (2003) Please Advise (2020) Instant Night (2021) References External links Musical groups from Washington, D.C. Dischord Records artists