Originally released in 2004, TV on the Radio’s debut album is nine songs about (in no particular order) discordant living, misrepresentation, how nothing can be, life, afterlife, love and love “after hours.” These are pop songs. These are rock songs. These are art songs. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes began right where TVOTR’s 2003 debut EP Young Liars left off, propelled into uncharted sonic territory. Undeniably catchy songs with incredible production, arrangements, champion crooning (including stunning a cappella performances) and a host of extras that makes this a seriously solid album. This limited edition 20th anniversary edition adds 5 bonus tracks to the album, including two previously unreleased (neither in physical format nor on digital service providers) tracks - "Dry Drunk Emperor" (2005 studio track) and "Final Fantasy" (2004 album outtake). Side D comprised of 5 bonus tracks. “Seriously, they are next to greatness”. DAVID CROSS. “A Martian mix of space-age sax, sky-high doo wop, séance-strange electronics and the rich, soulful vocals of (Adebimpe)”. MOJO, 2004. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1 The Wrong Way
2 Dreams
3 King Eternal
4 Ambulance
Side B:
5 Poppy
6 Don’t Love You
7 Bomb Yourself
8 Wear You Out
Side C:
9 Staring At The Sun
10 You Could Be Love
Side D:
11 Staring At The Sun (demo)
12 New Health Rock
13 Modern Romance
14 Final Fantasy
15 Dry Drunk Emperor

THE BAND
It’s still: Steve Albini ◊ Guitar. Todd Trainer ◊ Drums. Bob Weston ◊ Bass.

DATA
This is Shellac’s sixth studio LP. Recording & Mixing took place at Electrical Audio in Chicago over a bunch of long weekends in November, 2017; October, 2019; September, 2021; and March, 2022. The record was mas-tered by Bob & Steve at Chicago Mastering Service.

PACKAGING
LP and CD packaging and artwork are identical (the CD is just smaller). Bob took all the photos; some with a fancy camera and some with a telephone.

QC
Audio quality is paramount, as always, with Shellac. The LPs are being manufactured by Green Vinyl Records using an injection molding process. This new process uses 100% recyclable PET (like soda bottles) and is environmentally friendly, containing no PVC or Phthalates. The process also uses 79% less CO2 than conventional hydraulic PVC vinyl presses. The records weigh 180 grams.

PROMOTION
Other than the informational sheet you hold in your hand (or virtual hand), this record will have no formal promotion. There will be no advertisements, no press or radio promotion, no e-promotion, no promotional or review copies, no promotional gimmick items, and other-wise no free lunch.

THE IPODS
Shellac doesn’t have a website. Maybe we should get one. To All Trains (2AT) will be available on most streaming services and download sites in all your formats, sample rates, and bit depths; all the way up to 96kHz, 24-bit, Hi-Res (Apple Digital Masters compliant).

STAFF COMMENTS

Will says: To All Trains stands as the most powerful, and tragically final, statement of a band that have boldly stuck to their guns in the face of an ever-changing industry landscape, consistently building on their unique and enrapturing craft in the process.

The sarcastic and minimal composition for which Shellac are renowned is present in bucketloads, sparking Albinisms that I quote incessantly with those in the know. But what makes To All Trains stand out in the Shellac catalogue is some moments of actual songwriting - actual chord progressions, actual drum beats! Unsurprisingly, Shellac wear this well, typified in ‘Days Are Dogs’, but balance it with some of the more ridiculous songs they’ve released (‘Scabby the Rat’).

The album is full of great riffs, rug-pulls and rock-outs, but it’s the songs that bookend the record that truly set it apart. ‘WSOD’ had been a live staple for some time, as is typical of the band’s signature method of ad hoc recording, and for good reason, opening with an all-timer riff and concluding with noise fit to burst any speaker. ‘I Don’t Fear Hell’ is a piece of genius regardless of the circumstances that rendered it an eerie closing to the Shellac saga, with its entrancing riff, unassuming dissonance and bitingly defiant lyrics from a man fit to leap into hell and kill the devil himself.

To All Trains is a rockin’, clever and confessional masterpiece from a trio that cements themselves as one of rock’s very tightest and most impressive.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. WSOD
2. Girl From Outside
3. Chick New Wave
4. Tattoos
5. Wednesday
Side B
6. Scrappers
7. Days Are Dogs
8. How I Wrote How I Wrote Elastic Man (cock & Bull)
9. Scabby The Rat
10. I Don’t Fear Hell

Bassist David Wm. Sims is revealed as the band's secret weapon, stock still in anchoring an increasingly chaotic stage show. Guitarist Duane Denison's musical ideas stun throughout, finding an almost impossibly sympathetic foil in drummer, Mac McNeilly. All the while, vocalist David Yow's complete disregard for his own health and safety was becoming the stuff of legend, propelled by tracks like "Mouth Breather", "Monkey Trick" and the effaceable "Seasick". - Pat Daly // If the members of the Jesus Lizard got it "right" on HEAD, then GOAT serves as one of the great pinnacles in the history of the American underground. The Jesus Lizard's third document was the formula perfected, the cylinders firing in time, the crosshairs perfectly aligned in the scope, the last stiff drink before blacking out. - Jason Pettigre.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Then Comes Dudley
2. Mouth Breather
3. Nub
4. Seasick.
Side B:
5. Monkey Trick
6. Karpis
7. South Mouth
8. Lady Shoes
9. Rodeo In Joliet.

BONUS TRACKS * Included With Download:
Sunday You Need Love
Pop Song
Seasick (Live)
Lady Shoes (Live)
Monkey Trick (Live)

Evoking Fear of Music (Talking Heads), Station to Station (David Bowie), and Sign 'O" the Times (Prince), the resulting disc might be the most oddly beautiful, psychedelic, and ambitious of the year… Consider your mind blown. (4.5/5 stars) Rolling Stone, 2006.

This was the album that established once and for all that TV on the Radio were more than just a great idea for a band; they were a great band, period - Stereogum, 2016 // TV On The Radio's story is one of synchronicity, of serendipity, of epiphany. TVOTR began with Tunde Adebimpe (vocals) and David Sitek (multi-instrumentalist and production kingpin) being roommates, drinking way too much coffee, making art: comics, movies, paintings. They started trading tapes of each other's four track recordings and thought it'd be fun to try to make "a real record" out of all that stuff.

Touch And Go released TV On The Radio’s stunning EP "Young Liars" in July 2003, and it immediately marked them out as one of the most musically innovative bands to have emerged in years. Their debut full-length "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes" set 2004 off to a dramatically positive start. With new member Kyp Malone sharing songwriting, guitar and vocal duties, TVOTR was quickly on the path to the being one of the most talked-about new groups in America. After touring as a trio, Jaleel Bunton (drums) and Gerard Smith (bass) joined the band to create the official TVOTR line up. The band's second studio album, Return to Cookie Mountain, leaked in early 2006 and garnered pre-release praise from such outlets as Pitchfork before its official release in July. Return to Cookie Mountain is filled with guest appearances from David Bowie, Celebration, Antibalas, Blonde Redhead, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Was A Lover
2. Hours
3. Province
4. Playhouses
5. Wolf Like Me
6. A Method
7. Let The Devil In
8. Dirtywhirl
9. Blues From Down Here
10. Tonight
11. Wash The Day

Big Black was started by Steve Albini in 1982 while he was attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Lungs, the first Big Black release was recorded by Steve on a borrowed 4-track. He played everything on the EP himself - except the sax bleating courtesy of pal John Bohnen and the drums courtesy of Roland. Soon after, Steve recruited Jeff Pezzati (Naked Raygun) on bass, and Santiago Durango (also Naked Raygun) joined them on guitar. In 1983, together with live drummer Pat Byrne, they recorded the Bulldozer EP. By 1984, the band had done some touring and recorded the Racer X EP and the start of the Il Duce 7". After that, Jeff returned to Naked Raygun and was replaced by Dave Riley. In 1985, Big Black recorded their first full-length, Atomizer, as well as finishing the Il Duce 7". Atomizer was released in 1986 along with the release of the Hammer Party compilation CD. In 1987, the Headache EP and Heartbeat 7" were released. That same year, the band recorded and released the 7" of The Model/He's A Whore as well as their second full-length album, Songs About Fucking. They toured extensively (for Big Black). And they broke up.

TRACK LISTING

1. Racer X
2. Shotgun
3. The Ugly American
4. Deep Six
5. Sleep!
6. The Big Payback

Young Liars is the first major release by the New York City band TV on the Radio. Released in 2003 on Touch & Go Records, the EP helped establish the band's distinctive blending of electronica, doo wop, post-rock, and avant-garde styles. The release featured the single "Staring at the Sun," which would later be remixed and reissued in their full-length album Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. It contains an a cappella version of "Mr. Grieves," which was originally a rock song by Pixies, from the album Doolittle.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Satellite
A2. Staring At The Sun
A3. Blind
B1. Young Liars
B2. Mister Grieves

About The Album: 9 songs about (in no particular order) discordant living, misrepresentation, how nothing nothing can be, life, afterlife, love and love “after hours.” These are pop songs. These are rock songs. These are art songs. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes began right where TVOTR’s 2003 debut EP Young Liars left off, propelled into uncharted sonic territory. Undeniably catchy songs with incredible production, arrangements, champion crooning (including stunning a cappella perfomances) and a host of extras that makes this a seriously solid album.

Praise From The Press: … their songs politicize emotion in stinging turns of phrase, over a beat that makes you want to get up and dance. Interview Magazine.

The experience is baptismal. XLR8R Magazine.

What’s most frightening is that, mighty as Desperate Youth… is, their real stone killer is probably yet to come. Uncut.

It’s an arty, impressionistic and sometimes oddly beautiful album steeped in the fear, paranoia and pain of a post-Sept. 11 world, a quite catharsis couched in an utterly novel yet strangely simple musical language. Washington Post.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Wrong Way
2. Staring At The Sun
3. Dreams
4. King Eternal
5. Ambulance
6. Poppy
7. Don’t Love You
8. Bomb Yourself
9. Wear You Out
10. You Could Be Love (vinyl Only Bonus Track)

Vinyl now remastered By Steve Albini And Bob Weston.

The Players: Dave Riley - Bass, Santiago Durango - Guitar, Vocals, Steve Albini - Vocals, Guitar, Roland Drum Machine - itself.

Big Black was started by Steve Albini in 1982 while he was attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Lungs, the first Big Black release was recorded by Steve on a borrowed 4-track. He played everything on the EP himself - except the sax bleating courtesy of pal John Bohnen and the drums courtesy of Roland. Soon after, Steve recruited Jeff Pezzati (Naked Raygun) on bass, and Santiago Durango (also Naked Raygun) joined them on guitar. In 1983, together with live drummer Pat Byrne, they recorded the Bulldozer EP. By 1984, the band had done some touring and recorded the Racer X EP and the start of the Il Duce 7”. After that, Jeff returned to Naked Raygun and was replaced by Dave Riley. In 1985, Big Black recorded their first full-length, Atomizer, as well as finishing the Il Duce 7”. Atomizer was released in 1986 along with the release of the Hammer Party compilation CD. In 1987, the Headache EP and Heartbeat 7” were released. That same year, the band recorded and released the 7” of The Model/He’s A Whore as well as their second full-length album, Songs About Fucking. They toured extensively (for Big Black). And they broke up. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
The Power Of Independent Trucking
The Model
Bad Penny
L. Dopa
Precious Thing
Columbian Necktie
Side B:
Kitty Empire
Ergot
Kasimir S. Pulaski Day
Fish Fry
Pavement Saw
Tiny, King Of The Jews
Bombastic Intro

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the incomparable 90’s band known as Brainiac. This is in part due to a 2019 full feature documentary about the band (Transmissions After Zero) plus the re-emergence of surviving band members to celebrate their music in the last several years. In addition, a substantial pair of archival releases (Attic Tapes 2xLP, From Dayton Ohio 2xLP) were unearthed for release on Record Store Day 2021 by Touch and Go Records.

Now, in 2023, comes the latest missive of the archive, harkening back to the band’s latter era - and their most prolific and confident period. The Predator Nominate EP is a celebration of what was to come before the tragic exit of ringleader/singer Timmy Taylor. Listen to these realized demos and imagine what only could have been the confident seed of what the group might be capable of in this future century versus the last one. The world will never truly know.

BIO: Brainiac began in 1992 as the basement experiments of Dayton, OH natives Tim Taylor (vocals, synth), and Juan Monasterio (bass), who first met playing cello in fifth grade. Upon completing the lineup with Michelle Bodine (guitar) and Tyler Trent (drums), they released two full-lengths and toured vigorously, establishing

themselves as the latest peg in Ohio’s diverse musical timeline. In 1994, Michelle left the band and was replaced by John Schmersal.

In 1996, the band made their full-length debut on Touch and Go Records with the album Hissing Prigs in Static Couture.

On May 23, 1997, only weeks after the release of Electroshock for President EP and the band’s return from a European tour supporting Beck, Tim lost his life in a car accident. He was 28.

TRACK LISTING

Side A

1. Predator Nominate
2. Kiss Of The Dog
3. Smothered Inside
4. The Game

Side B

5. Going Wrong
6. Didn’t Feel
7. Gone Away
8. Pyramid Theme
9. Come With Me

The debut album from Steve Albini's new vision post Big Black and Rapeman, wired to the max guitar onslaughts from the MAN.

During the early to mid 90's, a little known band named "Shellac" was born in the cold city of Chicago, Illinois. You could call Shellac a super group of sorts, for it features musicians who originated from multiple different bands. Guitarist Steve Albini (Big Black), bassist Bob Weston (Volcano Suns), and drummer Todd Trainer (Brick Layer Cake) all contribute to make some of the coolest noisy post-hardcore you'll ever hear. Shellac's first record, At Action Park, was released in 1994 and met critical praise. In 1998, their follow-up record, Terraform, was released. 

Traditional rock'n'roll, fused with samples, electronic creations and an 'anything goes' attitude. The songs are rockin' and poppy and downright catchy! Enon feature members of Blonde Redhead, The Lapse and Brainiac.