1000 Hurts came out about a month before the 2000 elections. To think with these seven years of hate and disgust, instead of feeding into it, Shellac has been largely quiet. And now that the new album is out, while it sounds like Shellac, it doesn't hit as hard as Shellac should hit. A Shellac album should make me feel like I should go fuck myself. Instead it's just clean and pleasant rock. With a few songs that reference cocks and shit and whores.
All that dubya era rage that you'd think would have built up over those seven long years are expressed in "Elephant": "anti-intellectual, the new virtue, repeat a lie, that makes it true." Compared to Mission of Burma raging on the size of Nancy Reagan's head - while more topical - Shellac seems like a bunch of Air America pussies. In a small twist, Weston sings lead. His voice is terrible, but its honest terribleness lends the political song a Fugazi-like earnestness. Albini does rant all over the song, but instead of punctuating Weston's vocals he clobbers over most of them with constrasting vocals about "shit and hair, many hairs." With the two stringed instrument players singing and not doing anything else, the only other sound for most of the song is Trainer's impeccable drumming. In fact, in many ways this album is a Todd Trainer solo album with some guest vocals by Steve and Bob.
The album's opening song is a great example of Trainer really taking the lead on this one. "The End of Radio" is a live show staple. While not as seething as some live performances, it sounds good on record. And really it's all about the drumming and Albini's rant. Call it transient rock and roll with announcements. But Trainer pounds and rolls and kicks through the whole eight and a half minutes, screwing with tempo to echo Albini's strained contempt. This song could possibly be this album's "Didn't We Deserve a Look at You the Way You Really Are." Except the song that opens the B-side is so much more controversial.
The first nine plus minutes of the flip side are devoted to the "Genuine Lulabelle." If you ever wanted to know what Shellac sounded like if you took "Il Porno Star" and stripped out all the guitars and all the drums, then this is the song for you. That is, if you can get past the samples of Strong Bad and others to hear Albini's ode to a hooker who "really knows her way around a cock." Getting past the drastic change in song structure, the lyrics reveal that Albini may be as brazen as he ever was, but he's a lot less bad ass. It's almost a love song. However, once the guitar (finally) kicks in at the end for 30 seconds, it still rocks.
While the most noteworthy songs will be the most controversial, the minor songs will appease Shellac fans. Maybe not seven years worth of appeasing, but they still sound like sweet Shellac songs. "Steady As She Goes" and "Be Prepared" are fast and loud. The guitars ring. What more can you say, what more can you want. B-side instrumentals "Paco" and "Kittypants" are a bit dated, reminding me too much of bands Weston has recorded in the past, the former sounding June of 44-ish and the latter being rather Dianogah-like. The album ends with Shellac's least tight song ever, "Spoke." Perhaps even more bizarre than devoting nine a cappella minutes to a whore's blowjob prowess, the 2 minute song rumbles along drunk and hazy as opposed to the band's usual upright and linear projection.
No one expects Shellac to slowly but methodically throw together nine songs over several years and have it sound as great as their classic At Action Park era. Excellent Italian Greyhound is a nice Shellac record. Even if it is the worst record, which it may be, when played loudly, it moves the air with sufficient force and velocity to let you know that they are still a rock band and they can still play rock and roll quite well. That is, when they want to.
