JagBytes

Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Entertainment

The cover of Shellac's newest release, "Excellent Italian Greyhound"

The new Dave Mathews album (whatever the hell that may be) and "Excellent Italian Greyhound" have one thing in common-if you want them you're going to buy them and you're not waiting on me to tell you do to so.

"Excellent Italian Greyhound" is the first Shellac release in seven years and it's everything you would expect from a Steve Albini record. Todd Trainer's drums are epic, Albini still gnashes his lyrics and destroys his guitar and Bob Weston's bass is still the cohesive element complimenting Trainer's drum lines while standing out itself as a work of art.

Albini's humor is much more present on this album, it's not parody funny, but more tongue-in-cheek.

The album's opening track, "The End of Radio," tells a story of the last man on earth who wanders into a radio station. He begs for callers, holds contests, thanks non-existent sponsors, and dedicates songs to non-existent special girls. He asks the existential question, "Is it really broadcasting if there is no one there to watch?"

The refrain of the song is just "can you hear me now?" repeated a few times in a row.
In many ways, this album seems to be an exercise in the three-way dynamics between Trainer, Weston and Albini. Instruments will drop out, leaving a single bass line, or a drum line flying solo for upwards of a minute.

This is widely-used in the track "Elephant;" the effect of hearing just a drum line for a while sounds eerie at first, but it turns out to be a rather novel way to manipulate Shellac's dynamics and keep things interesting.

"Genuine Lulabelle," follows the same type of theme, only with a minute or so of just vocals, with special guest Strongbad, repeating the phrases, "genuine article," and "Lulabelle." It doesn't really add much, but it does make a statement, "Not so serious this time guys, we're getting older, let's have some fun with this one."

Shellac seems to have streamlined "Excellent Italian Greyhound," keeping the songs upbeat, and for the most part under five minutes. The album does not drag, but rather has peaks and valleys, creating a cohesive album that took way too long to get to my CD player. I'm not sure if it was worth the wait, but I'm damn glad it's here.

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