Steve Albini (Shellac, Big Black etc.) - RIP

Final Shellac tomorrow....


What can we say about the dearly departed? No words can cut it - this record will always be born in the sad shadow of Steve Albini's passing but, despite (or perhaps because of) that grim context, it hits double hard.

The trademark angular guitars that launched a thousand post-punk bands are ever-present, as are the stop-start rhythms which writhe and lurch like electrocuted cattle, but it's that inimitable blend of all of the above with an inventively lyrical and impassioned delivery that means this leaves us nursing a thousand hurts. Steve Albini was a boundary-smashing figure at both ends of the recording studio, & this album is a heartbreaking listen. THE BAND - It’s still: Steve Albini - Guitar; Todd Trainer - Drum; Bob Weston - Bass. DATA - This is Shellac’s sixth studio LP. Recording & Mixing took place at Electrical Audio in Chicago over a bunch of long weekends in November, 2017; October, 2019; September, 2021; and March, 2022. The record was mastered by Bob & Steve at Chicago Mastering Service.


shellac.bandcamp.com/album/to-all-trains