To date, the pattern for Shellac albums has been that the odd numbers have been far superior to the evens: their debut, ‘At Action Park’ remains one of the most sonically forceful masterclasses in angularity committed to tape. ‘1,000 Hurts’, likewise, still hits like a slap to the face. Meanwhile, ‘Terraform’ and ‘Excellent Italian Greyhound’ are excellent by any standards but less so in Shellac’s terms. It’s also worth noting that the weaker albums have long opening tracks. Coincidence? Who knows. Does Albini leave anything to chance?
So, ‘Dude Incredible’ is album number five. Does it follow the same pattern? It’s an odd number, but the opening track which is also the title track isn’t short, with a running time of six minutes. But with a loping rhythm and lurching math-rock country guitar line, the vocals all but buried in the mix, it’s classic Shellac, and that’s before you even deal with the unpredictable tempo changes and crashing maelstroms of noise that explode just when all’s looking safe.
The lurching ‘Compliant’ has echoes of ‘The Admiral’ from their debut, but shows an increasing interest in complex structures and the spaces in between chords and a greater sense of melody than all-out aural assault – at least until the last few seconds. ‘You Came In Me’ certainly brings the noise, guitar notes bending off at skewed angles, fraying every which ay from a frenetic tumult of drums and driving bass, while Albini hollers into distortion.
‘Riding Bikes’ stops and starts, stops and starts and ultimately grinds to the end of side one (you don’t listen to Shellac on CD or digital, although the 5” disc, unmarked save for the catalogue number floating around in the in the album sleeve is a nice bonus fans have grown accustomed to, and is undeniably handy).
Side two starts off with the first of three ‘Surveyor’ tracks, ‘All the Surveyors’. By turns choppy and meandering, it doesn’t allow easy access by linear progression. But when the riff and the drums collide, it really hits the mark.
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‘The People’s Microphone’ locks into a shuddering, halting, abrasive groove that winds up being washed away in a tide of overloading guitar before ‘Gary’ comes on slow and heavy, a lugubrious beast with clanging guitars spilling feedback and slashing brutal gashes cross a grinding bass.
In context, ‘Mayor/Surveyor’ comes as something of a surprise. It sounds like some doodly, noodly math-rock band and has a strong jazz-funk edge to it. The irony is that without Shellac, the chances are many generic doodly, noodly math-rock bands wouldn’t exist. Any other band in Shellac’s influential position might find this a cause of anguish as they agonise over how to evolve beyond the mold they’ve cast, but they couldn’t care less, not least of all because they’re already light years ahead. The musicianship is exemplary, and the production and unconventional mixing only highlights just how untouchable these guys are.
Let’s be clear: ‘Dude Incredible’ is not an easy or accessible record, and doesn’t have the same instant grabs of tracks like ‘My Black Ass’ or ‘Prayer to God’ that feature on their best albums. But that isn’t to say it lacks impact. Sonically, it’s up there with their best work, and if it wasn’t challenging it’d be immensely disappointing. The fact ‘Dude Incredible’ is often very challenging is its strength here, and facing the challenge brings the greatest rewards.
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