Don't expect 1000 Hurts to open your ears to anything new. Shellac's sound hasn't developed much. Are they yanking chains by periodically releasing selections from one extremely fruitful session? Only the band and a few tape operators know. No other band sounds like them, which legitimizes this status quo. The jagged scrapes of Steve Albini's guitar, the somewhat laggard bass from Bob Weston, and the awkward-yet-steady time keeping of Todd Trainer's drums remain in top form. For what it's worth, Albini's guitar does seem to gain more grace as the years go on -- just watch out for the ugly jazz fusion lick that ends "Canaveral." Raw, no-frills production? Absence of overdubs? Goofy time signatures? They're all a part of the cauldron. As with the band's previous LPs, you get healthy doses of extended hypnotic doodling, rumbling mid-tempo tantrums, speedy jabs, and a joke or two. And as with any recording featuring the wordsmithery of Steve Albini, one fights the urge to transcribe the whole damn thing. Often humorous, occasionally unsettling, but always intelligent and thought-provoking, Albini's lyrics are a bit nastier than the past couple records. "Prayer to God" is no plea for forgiveness or well-wishing; he asks his lord to kill an ex-girlfriend and her accomplice. "Canaveral" dreams of whisking an enemy to outer space, in hopes that he'll become fertilizer. If you know the band's sound, your mind was probably made up prior to reading this. You know what to expect, aside from it not being quite as fantastic as At Action Park, but certainly better than Terraform. True to Shellac form, the record is a sound purchase. Within the domain of atonal, anti-commercial rock & roll, very few are on their level.
This is one of my favorite songs to sing in the shower.As you can see from the tag, it is a little conversation with God that the band lets us in on. A little one sided as far as conversations go, but that is part of what makes it so special.
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A "shrine":http://mog.com/Fedge/blog_post/43143, of sorts, to Steve Albini has popped up today here in the MOG-O-SPHERE. As such, I thought I would take this opportunity to post some things I once wrote to some other people about some of Albini's recordings. This is the last of three posts in a series.From Sunday, December 21, 2003 at 06:25 PM:This album is far and away my favorite Albini rec...
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This is one of my favorite songs to sing in the shower.As you can see from the tag, it is a little conversation with God that the band lets us in on. A little one sided as far as conversations go, but that is part of what makes it so special.
More >
A "shrine":http://mog.com/Fedge/blog_post/43143, of sorts, to Steve Albini has popped up today here in the MOG-O-SPHERE. As such, I thought I would take this opportunity to post some things I once wrote to some other people about some of Albini's recordings. This is the last of three posts in a series.From Sunday, December 21, 2003 at 06:25 PM:This album is far and away my favorite Albini rec...
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So, last year after the bells finally tolled for my failed relationship I decided that a long stint of sleeping around was called for. I am kinda pleased about this decision. It is working out well for me and I only feel lonely most of the time rather than all of the time.Anyway, this lead me to thinking about the best ever break up song, which I also think is the greatest love song ever – Pray.
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 "1000 Hurts")
