Steve Albini Is Dead
Puppy Angst didn’t kill him at The 4th Wall on Friday, 3 May 2024.
Main Era and Dogs On Shady Lane sandwich the dog-heavy triple-stack bill at Capitol Theatre.
Steve Albini died of a heart attack at sixty-one years of age on May 7, 2024.
Wow, did not see that coming. A legendary figure in music. Musician, producer (or “engineer”), and a real mensch who had some original and articulate thoughts about the suckitude and grift of the industry. And when he aired those thoughts, you could tell it came from a place of love for the art.
Too soon, but goddamn, look at this selection of artists (grabbed from Wikipedia) he worked with: Nirvana, Pixies, the Breeders, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Mogwai, the Jesus Lizard, Don Caballero, PJ Harvey, the Wedding Present, Joanna Newsom, Superchunk, Low, Dirty Three, Jawbreaker, Neurosis, Cloud Nothings, Bush, Chevelle, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (as Page and Plant), Helmet, the Stooges, Owls, Manic Street Preachers, Jarvis Cocker, the Cribs, the Fleshtones, Nina Nastasia, the Frames, the Membranes, Cheap Trick, Motorpsycho, Slint, Labradford, Veruca Salt, Zao, the Auteurs, Spare Snare, and Foxy Shazam. And more!
That’s enough influence and impact for a few lifetimes.
There’s a Wiki list of albums he produced, but it’s not remotely close to exhaustive. No mention of Sunshine Riot’s Electrical Tape, for example. Hundreds (thousands?) of his projects with lesser known or downright obscure artists will never make the history books. That’s how history books work, but the musicians who sought him out as an engineer won’t forget. A DIY guy – he would’ve loved The 4th Wall too.
Dogs On Shady Lane
The four-piece indie rock outfit Dogs On Shady Lane out of Rhode Island (or is it NYC? maybe a bit of both) crafts a dreamy pop that’s not quite dreampop. Too many square edges in the sound for that. Solid vocal harmonies. Psych vibes. A lot of tools in the toolbox. Shades of Otis Shanty, with whom they shared a bill not so long ago. Extra points for the fluffy drum mallets, which let the percussionist go as soft as she wants.
Puppy Angst
The five-piece Puppy Angst brought a heavy pop sound with them from Philly. A keyboard and sampler gave them plenty of layers and exotic textures. Shades of Paper Lady, but more upbeat pop and less downtempo brooding. The band trotted out a newish, or at least unrecorded, number, possibly called “Fortune.”
The local four-piece Main Era is exploring a more art-damaged sonic landscape opened up by its latest release The Bank, A Farmer. You’ll miss the slam dunk catchy tunes like “Clandestine Sadness,” you’ll prize the more highly-evolved ensemble work.
Main Era
It’s not really necessary to hear the band live to enjoy a traditional pop tune with big hook-and-refrain payoffs. But to understand what they’re doing better now, yeah, it’s best to be in the room.
Said it before, say it again: the tenor of the tracks on the new release feels like alt tuned rollercoasters of early-to-middle period Sonic Youth. I’m almost tempted to try to connect the dots between specific songs on an album like Daydream Nation or Sister to specific songs on The Bank, A Farmer. Maybe I will. There’s a strong sympathy in terms of the songwriting, textures, versatility within the ensemble, and the way the players read & respond to each other.
Plenty of differences too – for example, the band doesn’t delve into the feedback palette, which is/was the sine qua non of Sonic Youth.
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Mellotron!