Kult Reviews: SHELLAC - Excellent Italian Greyhound
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It’s hard not to love Chicago’s Shellac. They are consistently—if not defiantly—rigid in their sonic scope (the group’s predilection for analog gear and custom electronics is legendary), and still manage to produce some of the best, and weirdest, sounds out there. And 15 years into their career, they show no signs of letting up. Excellent Italian Greyhound (Touch And Go), Shellac’s long-awaited follow-up to 2000’s stellar 1000 Hurts, is a relentlessly intense, catchy and controlled batch of mathematical noise rock.
The players in this self-proclaimed “minimalist rock trio”—guitarist/vocalist Steve Albini and bassist/vocalist Bob Weston and drummer/vocalist Todd Trainer—are unbelievably tight and efficient on Excellent Italian Greyhound. And thanks to the idiosyncratic/old school recording methods of Albini and Weston (the pair’s day job is running Electrical Audio studios in Chigaco) Excellent Italian Greyhound sounds loud, live and rich as hell.
Albini is such the absolute master of the jagged angular riff that in the math rock world he has no equal. His guitar tone sounds warmer than ever on this outing, and it perfectly complements Weston’s throbbing bass lines. But it’s Trainer’s machine-like drums that are the real force behind these songs. They sit way up in the mix and are steady as clockwork, while somehow still managing to give the impression of space. The arrangements on Excellent Italian Greyhound are simple enough, but—in true Shellac form—manage to feel intense and disorienting. – Jimmy Hubbard
i think this dog is beautiful in everyway. i mysel love dogs, epecialy italian greyhound. i have one of my own and this dog is very pretty!