#662 Shellac - At Action Park

Another Steve Albini act showcasing his penchant for raw, thunderous post-punk.

Everything is bone-dry and huge.

Any reverb gated beyond gated, with clipped instant decay on every drum hit and guitar screech, every note swiping from the darkness and gone in a flash. The exception is the clattering, dry bones bass, landing somewhere between The Giddy Motors and Korn's excesses. The vocals are similarly deadpanned, Falling from Albini's mouth in lumps. The result is an album that is both aggressive and aggressively disinterested, hooky and headbobbable, but almost by accident.

The problem is the sameness of the sound, exhilarating at first, wearyingly familiar after as few as 3 tracks, with no standout moments outside of the occasional clever lyrical turn. Maybe this helps explain why Albini's had greater success as a producer than a frontman: songwritingwise he's something of a one trick pony, better served when someone else's ideas are the object of his considerable production chops 3/5