Customer Reviews

Terraform

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

much is said about the "genius" of steve albini, and while he is a talented and unique individual/musician, shellac is about THREE incredibly talented musicians who ALL contribute much to the music. it goes without saying that steve's guitar playing and sound are wholly unique, but for my money todd trainer is THE best drummer working in rock today, and bob weston's bass lines and bass sound are equally as innovative as steve's.

shellac is about as economical as a band can be. there are no extraneous notes, every sound, every word, every drum beat is put there for a reason. from the incredibly captivating, minimal opener "didn't we deserve a look at you the way you really are" to the short, infectious blast of "copper" at the end, this album moves through a bleak soundscape that sounds barren and uninteresting, lacking variety at first, but on closer examination hidden details that were almost to small to notice become apparent. shellac is a band of subtleties, where every stray movement of a finger against a guitar string is like a symphony, and the recording brings out every nuance and shade of the playing. the dynamic and interplay between each musician is mesmerising and they play off each other perfectly, each contributing a necessary part to the whole. this album is just as good as at action park, just as enthralling, and just as urgent.

The first track on "Terraform" is 12 minutes long. The first time I heard "Terraform" and I heard the song, I was very baffled. But then it grew on me. The song is very hypnotizing, and they add little subtleties to make it work on you even more.

This is a Shellac album you have to listen to from beginning to end. There are two songs on here that are stone classics that I never get tired of listening to, "Copper" and "This is a Picture". "This is a Picture" has the coolest bassline ever to be recorded, and "Copper" ends the album on a great note.

It's impossible to pick the best Shellac album, and you would be a fool for trying. Shellac are one of the strongest creative forces to be released from the underground in the past 10 years.

As much as I like Action Park, and the novelty of 1000 Hurts (I just got it), Terraform is the Shellac album I listen to the most. Its raw "rickshaw from hell" clanging and repetition, mind numbing bass and dentist's drill guitar just make me squeal like a girly every time. It is the big bad.

Much criticism of this album centers around the track lengths, which to me is the strongest thing about Terraform. It is nice to hear Shellac go on and on, and I hope there's another album like this one. Not all punk fans are addicted to and fundamentalist about little sonic blasts. Hell, I'd be giddy to hear Shellac do an album that is just one song!

So....yadda yadda. Buy this. It'll make your teeth itch!

I first heard Albini's newest band live at Greece (Southern Europe, not NY) when this album was their latest work, and there were about 400 people in that little An Club. "Hey Steve, have you guys brought any CDs of the band with you that people here can buy?" was asked by the lead singer of the support band that night ("Bokomolech"-a local band). "No, we haven't", Steve plainly replied. Well, either he's not much of a buziness genious, or he just doesn't care (I 'll go for the latter).

I remember them playing the first song of this album. It went on and on. Haunting; neverending. The bass player had his eyes closed, and just played, played, played... Steve was looking at times into the empty space somewhere on the wall at the other end of the club; and at times at the puzzled crowd. Yeah, they 're here to listen to you, Steve, but how many understand what's going on here? How many would write a song like DWDALAYTWYRA if they had a band?

So, you think this song lasts too long? No, not long enough. I 'm not being sarcastic. I wish it went on for hours. I usually use the "repeat" button when I listen to it. This is the kind of music I 've been looking for, even without knowing.

I think that "Copper" and "Canada" are the next best moments here. Both for music and lyrics. "Copper" is sth like a pop(!)-punk song, short but exciting. "Copper, let us take you, to a furnace where we 'll break you". "Canada" actually has sth-close-to-a-solo in it, which is the best part of the song.

"House full of Garbage" also features a minimalistic going-on-and-on bassline, but it's not as good as the opening track (not as long, either). It's quite interesting, though, and it's quite close to the days of Big Black's "Songs About F......".

A lot(?!) of people also seem to like "This is a picture". Yes, the lyrics are beautiful, but the guitar doesn't quite cut the mustard for me.

In my opinion, these are the most interesting moments of this album. I 'm not rating it 5 stars, just because there are some songs in it I could live without. But most of the songs I mentioned are certainly 5-star songs. If you like bands like Fugazi or, especially, The Jesus Lizard, Shellac are for you. Even if "copper will never be gold".

Let me add that there's one more similarity between Shellac and Jesus Lizard. Their albums don't just feel like just-another-bunch-of-good-songs. While listening to them, I feel that there's nothing more important in the world than these songs. "We 're not talking about escaping life, here. We 're talking about life itself".

There's something about Shellac that makes you feel whichever of their three lp's you are listening too is the best thing next to crack rocks and puppy dogs. Therefore, it's hard to accurately say which Shellac album is my favorite. However, the one i've listened to the most and for the longest time would be Terraform. There's something about that first song that just weeds out all the pop fans, leaving just us noise addicts in their wake. From there, the album branches into all sorts of distorted disjointed guitar slabs, bass lines that push you up to the edge, and drums that pummel you but leave you begging for one more crash cymbal. Pick this baby up, then get Action Park, then 1000 Hurts, and all on vinyl, because it's Steve's music, what he says goes...

It's suprising, that the song most people complain about, "Didn't We Deserve Blah Blah The Title Is Almost As Long As The Song," is one of my favorites. The repetition is numbing, sure, but whenever Todd Trainer lets loose with a drum fill, or Steve Albini's guitar does something different, you jump out of your seat. And like Albini's production on the title track of PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me," you find yourself slowly cranking the volume, unaware that an eruption is just around the corner. "Didn't We Deserve A Shorter Song Title So I Could Quote The Whole Thing," requires quite an attention span, but it's a masterpiece. So, what happened? 12 minutes into the album, the songs go weak. I can hear potential, but the power that drove "At Action Park" songs like "Song Of The Minerals" and "Crow" isn't there. "Canada" is the only song in the middle of the album that stands out. I couldn't tell the difference between the other songs even if I knew what they were, except for "House Full Of Garbage," which ends with a few minutes of snare drums. Fugazi did that in 1992, and it was obnoxious then, too. Fortunately, the album closes with the 80's pop-ish "Copper," which tips the scale in the album's favor. This isn't reccomended listening for the casual Albini/Big Black fan, but if you can't get enough, this is for you.

Steve Albini's guitar sound is so distinct. He has a metalic, bright, abrassive sound that sounds like nothing I have heard. The rythms are tight and deceptively simple. They will play one riff forever, until you think it will never end, then out of nowhere, the most subtle of changes will transform the whole sound.

this one wasn't received too well initially, following up powerhouse "at action park." also, the droning, 15 minute opener didn't help. after that, however, "terraform" absolutely smokes. the ending of "mouthpiece," w/ todd trainer screaming like a banshee while invoking the spirit of john bonham gives me chills. also, you know how sometimes you find beauty in the most unlikely of places, like amid the vulgarity of a charles bukowski novel? there's a line in "this is a picture" that's delivered during a break from the drums, where it's just albini strumming two chords over and over: "there are angels there/ you know where they keep angels/ heaven, that's where." i don't know, something about that verse strikes me as incredibly poignant, especially when so much of the lyrical content focuses on the negative. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, "terraform" closes w/ shellacs' catchiest song before or since, "copper," which reminds me a lot of the final song in the big black catalog, "he's a whore." this is a largely overlooked record that deserves more praise than it has gotten so far.

Certainly, Shellac's prettiest record. This is not to say it lacks oomph at all. The long opener "Didn't We..." makes you wait about halfway through the song for variations on its 4 note bass riff and simple drum accompaniment. Albini eventually enters with some good guitar hurt. Many of you may skip this one, but you'll be rapt by the remaining half hour or so "This is a Picture" is certainly one of Shellac's finest moments, where Albini meditates on death and love rather innocently(for him,at any rate-his cynicism usually glosses over any real human emotions he may have), singing, "There are angels there...you know where they make angels...heaven, that's where...I can't wait to die/I can find me some/its where Ill find my wife/when Im through with my present one". Another fine moment is "Mouthpiece"... Overall, this record is laden with Shellac's best riffing and you may actually be able, as you can see above, divine the meaning of the song!

Completely lacking glam, glitter, silly posturing, effects pedals, giant choruses, etc. I love the sparseness of this recording. I mean, how many bands could make a song like DWDALAYTWYRA rock the way it does with just a few notes, a few fills, and lots of big wide open space and perfectly timed vocals? There's also a wonderfully dry and wicked sense of humor behind many of the songs, as well as some very haunting moments. A great record!