Shellac
1000 Hurts Professional

THE REVIEW

The third album since 1995 by Steve Albini's band, who was in Big Black until 1987 (let's remember a great cover of "The Model" by Kraftwerk) and then became one of the most sought-after sound engineers in the indie scene for Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Pixies, Helmet, Wedding Present. Then in 1995, unexpectedly with "At Action Park," he started making his own records again, naming the band after the resin used to make old 78s, those heavy ones that don't bend, weighing 177 grams. And with this image, the music of Shellac is best explained: simple, spartan, minimal, analog rock, recorded without overdubs, live, a bass/guitar/drums combo that isn't afraid of silences, that fills the void with void, with the guitar coming out of the amp untreated, with the courage to be naked. Songs based on dynamics, devoid of any technical virtuosity but based almost entirely on dynamics, built on relentless staccatos, with the sound seeming to be remodulated by the speakers with each listen. This "Mille Ferite" is an exemplary work of Albini's approach to production and songwriting; everything originates around an abrasive and penetrating riff repeated endlessly, with the bass going in countertime and following its melodic lines (in "Song Against Itself" this is theorized with the verse "This is the song against itself/It's of two minds of its own"). In the song that opens the album, "Prayer to God," Albini's voice submerged in the mix after the introduction "To the one true God above: here is my prayer/not the first you've heard/ but the first I wrote/not the first, but the others were a long time ago/There are two people here, and I want you to kill