To All Trains

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To All Trains
A black-and-white photo of a train station
Studio album by
Shellac
ReleasedMay 17, 2024 (2024-05-17)
Recorded
  • November 5–6, 2017
  • October 18–21, 2019
  • September 1–6, 2021
  • March 2–3, 2022
StudioElectrical Audio, Chicago, Illinois, US
GenreMath rock[1]
Length28:13
LanguageEnglish
LabelTouch and Go
ProducerSteve Albini
Shellac chronology
The End of Radio
(2019) 		To All Trains
(2024)

"It's marketing, which is maybe my most hated thing on earth. Like, fascism is up there, but marketing is right behind, you know?"

—Shellac guitarist Steve Albini on the decision to not send out promotional copies of To All Trains to press outlets[2]

To All Trains is the sixth studio album by American rock band Shellac, released by Touch and Go Records on May 17, 2024.[3] It is the first original studio effort by the band in a decade and is the final recording made before band member Steve Albini's death days prior to the album's release. The recording was made around the band's touring over the course of several years and was not promoted with advance copies, specific tour dates, or singles.[4] The release coincided with Shellac's music being available on music streaming services for the first time in years.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Louder Sound[6]
Louder Than War5/5[7]
Sputnikmusic4.2/5[8]

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that "it's practically impossible to listen to the music without hearing it through the filter of grief, which is odd, since this is music that sounds muscular, vital, and very much alive" and the band is "a lean, mean math rock machine... [with] concision of the songs [that] makes this a breathless, energetic listening experience".[1] Lux Sparks-Pescovitz of BoingBoing recommended this album to anyone, including those unfamiliar with Albini's previous work and favorably compared this album to blues rock, The Raconteurs, and David Bowie's final studio album Blackstar.[9] At Clash Music, Cal Cashin scored this work a 9 out of 10, calling it “beat-em-up mutant rock” that “showcases a rock band who get every single thing about being a rock band absolutely correct”.[10] In Kerrang!, Olly Thomas called this release "a masterclass in delivering musical precision with an undercarriage of scuzz and tension" and rated it a 4 out of 5.[11]

Paul Brannigan at Louder Sound rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, characterizing it as "as thrillingly intense, darkly amusing and pleasingly unsentimental as expected" with emotions that are "grinding [and] typically unsentimental" as well as silly, creating music that is "never less than compelling throughout, never less than a bleakly beautiful good time".[6] At Louder Than War, John Robb rated this album a 5 out of 5 and called it "another peep into the tight world of the band and another celebration of their minimalistic genius" that "sounds as thrilling and fresh as anything they have ever done".[7] Grayson Haver Currin of Mojo scored To All Trains 4 out of 5 stars, ending his review, "if that’s the last testament of this singular powerhouse, hold it close".[12] Editors at Pitchfork included this among a shortlist of the eight best albums of the week, calling it a "record of righteous, riotous noise"[13] and later rated it an 8.1 out of 10, with critic Christopher R. Weingarten writing that it "naturally walks the same path and, had circumstances permitted, would likely have been appreciated simply as little more than Shellac’s sixth excellent record".[14]

Online retailer Qobuz spotlighted this release and Jeff Laughlin called it "classic Shellac" with songs that "epitomizes Shellac’s unique style" that invite "reflection on our collective folly".[15] In Rolling Stone, Kory Grow called these songs a mixture of Albini’s sarcasm and biting noise rock “with its snarling lyrics and crisp sound” that serves as an appropriate final statement.[16] Writing for Sputnikmusic, Simon K. rated To All Trains a 4.2 out of 5, stating that it "essentially cherry picks all of the band’s greatest assets and crafts a lean, moreish and hard-hitting record both fans and newcomers are sure to lap up", resulting in "one of the sharpest entries in their discography".[8] At Stereogum, Tom Breihan called this album "short and muscular... and it works as a sterling example of this band’s kind of apocalyptic rock minimalism".[17] At Uproxx, To All Trains was listed among the best new indie music of the week and Grant Sharples wrote that, “over the course of 10 brief, hard-hitting songs, Albini, bassist Bob Weston, and drummer Todd Trainer rip through them with palpable urgency”.[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steve Albini, Todd Trainer, and Bob Weston.

  1. "WSOD" – 2:24
  2. "Girl From Outside" – 2:46
  3. "Chick New Wave" – 2:22
  4. "Tattoos" – 3:08
  5. "Wednesday" – 3:18
  6. "Scrappers" – 2:21
  7. "Days Are Dogs" – 1:42
  8. "How I Wrote How I Wrote Elastic Man (Cock & Bull)" – 4:09
  9. "Scabby the Rat" – 1:46
  10. "I Don’t Fear Hell" – 4:18

Personnel

Shellac

Additional personnel

  • David Babbitt – sleeve design
  • Matthew Barnhart – tape op
  • Greg Norman – tape op
  • Ungiedem Zaneta Ogar – live sound recording
  • Jon San Paolo – tape op
  • Gregoire Yeche – tape op

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Deming, Mark (n.d.). "To All Trains – Shellac". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Khana, Vish (May 17, 2024). "Steve Albini on Shellac's New Album, His Love of Music and His Hatred of Promoting It". Exclaim!. ISSN 1207-6600. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  3. ^ Strauss, Matthew (March 20, 2024). "Shellac Announce First New Album in a Decade". News. Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  4. ^ Currin, Grayson Haver (May 9, 2024). "Steve Albini Did the Work". Afterword. Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Pearis, Bill (May 17, 2024). "Steve Albini's bands Shellac and Big Black return to Spotify & other streaming services". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Brannigan, Paul (May 17, 2024). ""The most bittersweet listening experience of the year cuts close to the bone." Shellac's To All Trains is Steve Albini's epitaph, and it's as thrillingly intense, darkly amusing and pleasingly unsentimental as expected". Reviews > Louder. Louder Sound. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Robb, John (May 18, 2024). "Shellac 'To All Trains' album review". Album Reviews. Louder Than War. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  8. ^ a b K., Simon (May 17, 2024). "Review: Shellac – To All Trains". Reviews. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  9. ^ Sparks-Pescovitz, Lux (May 17, 2024). "Steve Albini's incendiary final album with Shellac is his Bowie"Blackstar"". BoingBoing. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Cashin, Cal (May 20, 2024). "Shellac – To All Trains". Reviews. Clash Music. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Thomas, Olly (May 23, 2024). "Album review: Shellac – To All Trains". Reviews. Kerrang!. ISSN 0262-6624. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Currin, Grayson Haver (May 21, 2024). "Shellac To All Trains Review: Steve Albini's noiseniks bow out on powerful form". Articles | New Music. Mojo. ISSN 1351-0193. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  13. ^ Monroe, Jazz; Strauss, Matthew (May 17, 2024). "8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Billie Eilish, Crumb, Shellac, and More". News. Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (May 21, 2024). "Shellac: To All Trains Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Laughlin, Jeff (May 17, 2024). "Shellac – To All Trains". Qobuz Magazine. Qobuz. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Grow, Kory (May 20, 2024). "Shellac's 'To All Trains' Perfectly Balances Steve Albini's Sarcasm With Biting Noise Rock". Music > Album Reviews. Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. OCLC 969027590. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Breihan, Tom (May 17, 2024). "Stream Shellac's Eerily Amazing Final Album To All Trains". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  18. ^ Sharples, Grant (May 21, 2024). "All The Best New Indie Music From This Week". Uproxx. Retrieved May 21, 2024.

External links

Retrieved from "https://mdwiki.org/wiki/To_All_Trains"