2012.08.26 Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound

Color: Black

Released: 2007, June 5

Label: Touch & Go

So I’m in Chicago right? Well, tonight I will be seeing the mighty Shellac performing live. How lucky am I. God. The last time I saw Shellac was June 23rd, 2001, when they opened for Fugazi at the Congress Theatre. Way too fucking long, for sure. The band I was in briefly, when I lived in Nashville actually got to mix our record with Bob Weston and we were all a little giddy when we took a break and he played us a track from this record in its infancy. So that was pretty cool. The opening track on this puppy (no pun intended) is quite something as well. In addition to being something special musically, Albini assumes the role of radio show announcer for a narrative about the death of radio. Shellac may not have changed much from their first recording, but they’ve upheld a standard of excellence that’s untouched. The vinyl version of this record comes enclosed in a screen-printed sleeve illustrated by Chicago artist Jay Ryan. As a fan of Ryan’s work, with some of other pieces by him in my collection, this is a welcome addition. Other than an additional illustration on the inside cover, the art is comprised of some pretty amusing photos of drummer Todd Trainer’s Italian Greyhound. Rumor has it the band recently debuted a new song at a recent show - hopefully that gets played tonight, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it will uphold the integrity and general badassery that Shellac is known for.