Shellac was the Chicago noise rock trio of Steve Albini, Bob Weston, and Todd Trainer, formed in 1992 and ended by Albini's death in 2024 — the same Albini who engineered Nirvana's In Utero and Pixies' Surfer Rosa. At Action Park and 1000 Hurts are essentials; To All Trains was the farewell. Explore Shellac vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Shellac formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1992 around Steve Albini (born July 22, 1962, Pasadena, California). Albini had previously been a member of the foundational noise rock bands Big Black (1981-1987) and Rapeman (1987-1989, controversial band name retroactively repudiated by Albini). Bob Weston (previously of Volcano Suns) joined as bassist, with Todd Trainer (previously of Brick Layer Cake) as drummer. The lineup remained stable across the band's entire history. Shellac is widely cited as one of the most important contemporary American post-hardcore and noise rock bands. They recorded all of their material at Albini's Electrical Audio recording studio in Chicago (DIY ethos and refusal of all major label involvement throughout their career). Steve Albini was better known as one of the most important American underground recording engineers and producers - the 'engineer not producer' role he insisted upon (argument against the 'producer' role's assertion of creative authority over recording artists) - working with Nirvana (In Utero 1993), the Pixies (Surfer Rosa 1988), PJ Harvey (Rid of Me 1993), the Breeders (Pod 1990), the Jesus Lizard, Cloud Nothings, and dozens of other landmark American underground recording sessions across multiple decades. He died of a heart attack on May 7, 2024 at age 61, with public mourning across the American underground music community. The posthumous album To All Trains had been completed shortly before his death and was released on May 17, 2024. The band dissolved with his death. Their foundational influence on American post-hardcore and broader underground rock is widely cited.
Shellac's sound combines post-hardcore, noise rock, math rock, post-punk, post-rock, and minimalist rock with Albini's distinctive vocal delivery (use of confrontational, ironic content), use of unconventional song structures and use of alternative time signatures, and commitment to DIY analog recording aesthetics distinct from contemporary American underground rock.
Touch and Go Records pressings of the Shellac catalog are foundational items in American post-hardcore and noise rock collecting, with collector demand.
Listeners new to Shellac typically start with At Action Park (1994) or 1000 Hurts (2000).
