Shellac

More likely to play Reykjavik than Detroit, and more likely to release songs on flexi-discs in Dutch comic books than provide MP3s on their website, Shellac (or Shellac Of North America) operated completely outside the typical machinations of the music industry -- their press sheets typically exclaimed "no free lunch," referring to promo copies -- and trio carved out a sizable niche as a minimalist rock band.



Started in an informal setting between infamous engineer and guitarist Steve Albini (ex-Just Ducky, Big Black, Rapeman) and drummer Todd Trainer (ex-Rifle Sport, Brick Layer Cake) in 1992, Shellac came into full formation after Albini invited bassist Bob Weston (ex-Sorry, Volcano Suns) to move to Chicago, employing him as an engineer at his studio. A clutch of singles soon appeared in 1993 and 1994 on Touch and Go and Drag City, somewhat following in the footsteps of Albini's Big Black and Rapeman, if only due to his trebly, cutting guitar work and deadpan vocals. As with Big Black, Shellac provided a forum for Albini to air his thoughts on the uglier side of humanity, though lowering the perversity and upping the humor a notch. (An early claim was that all Shellac songs concerned either baseball or Canada, sometimes both in the same song.) The odd rhythms of Trainer and rumbling bass of Weston, however, clearly removed Shellac from any of the members' previous involvements.

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