Shellac:
There is no grey area with Steve Albini. You either have an
opinion about him or have no idea who he is. In the '80s, his bands Rapeman and particularly
Big Black helped inspire the Chicago strain of industrial music taken to multi-platinum heights
by an Ohioan, Trent Reznor. In the early '90s he was more often behind the boards shaping
the sounds of the likes of Nirvana, P.J. Harvey and Bush, most controversially. With that
income, he and his current bandmates in Shellac built their own studio from which they have
been plying their musical craft. Shellac are uncompromising. Titanic blasts of guitar from
Albini are heavily supported with an industrial polymer rhythm base from Todd Trainer and
Bob Weston. On 1000 Hurts, the lyrics are similarly uncompromising. Perhaps this
shouldn't be surprising coming from a man who has sung about self- Rating: 5
1000 Hurts (Touch'n'Go)
immolation and a
band that has released 7"s with titles like "The Bird is the Most Popular Finger." One hopes
that events in real life have not inspired songs like the introductory track "Prayer to God,"
in which the narrator implores his deity to commit a double homicide on his behalf and
"Canaveral" in which the protagonist has capital thoughts when he catches a friend sleeping with
his wife. Not for the faint of heart.
--Tim Frommer
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