Shellac: At Action Park (CD)

A marauding dirge descending slowly from the sky to land on your car, 'My Black Ass' menaces and mesmerises you into realising this will be no ordinary aural trip. Shellac is about repetition until a particular riff or measure is perfect, and then throwing little variations into it to muss you up. They, of course, never lose their timing or include inappropriate noise - all moves are planned, all things are considered.

Not to say that this record doesn't have noise - check out 'Crow' and 'Song Of The Minerals', for monstrous, vicious rock. 'The Idea Of North' develops like sunrise, and 'Boche's Dick' is a tight, methodical near-closer that is way too short and way to good to be short.

All in all, no misses. Don't expect many messages here, though; this is not a record of syntax, its all about the music. Normally rock sounds stupid when it takes itself seriously; not here.

1. My Black Ass
2. Pull The Cup
3. The Admiral
4. Crow
5. Song Of The Minerals
6. A Minute
7. The Idea Of North
8. Dog And Pony Show
9. Boche's Dick
10. Il Porno Star