Noise rock trio Shellac was formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1992 by former Big Black / Rapeman guitarist, vocalist, and producer Steve Albini along with drummer Todd Trainer (Brick Layer Cake / Rifle Sport / Breaking Circus) and bassist Camilo Gonzalez (Naked Raygun), who was quickly replaced by bassist Bob Weston. Less aggressive than Albini’s previous bands. Shellac’s more minimalistic sound blended noise rock, post-hardcore, and math rock into a unique sound. Continuing Steve Albini’s relationship with the Touch and Go Records label, Shellac released their first EP, The Rude Gesture: A Pictorial History, in 1993, which was followed later that year by the Uranus EP. In 1994, they released The Bird is the Most Popular Finger EP, followed by their critically acclaimed debut album, At Action Park. The group quickly followed up their debut album with the release of Live in Tokyo at the end of ’94. Shellac followed up that release in 1995 and 1997 with two split 7” single releases alongside Big’n, Brise-Glace, and U.S. Maple on the first single and Mule on the second. Following the release of the extremely limited album The Futurist - which was gifted to 780 of their friends – Shellac released their second official album, Terraform, in 1998. Two years later, they issued their third album 1000 Hurts, which was followed by another split 7” single with Caesar. Shellac played live more often than Big Black and appeared at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2002. Steve Albini’s production and engineering career – as well as running his studio, Electrical Audio – took up much of his time and Shellac didn’t release their next album, Excellent Italian Greyhound, until 2007. Their fifth album, Dude Incredible, was released in 2014 and was the first to chart in the US (number 85) and UK (number 82). After a decade long wait, Shellac announced the release of their sixth album, To All Trains, in May 2024. However, the Shellac story came to an end when Steve Albini suffered a heart attack and died on May 7, 2024, at the age of 61.
