In my experience, people have quite the love/hate relationship with Shellac. For every rabid fan that knows every nitty-gritty detail about the band, there are an equal amount of people who spew vitriolic rants at the mere mention of their name. Having once been on the 'what the hell is all the fuss about?' side, but now having a profound respect for the band, I can say that Excellent Italian Greyhound is Shellac's finest work since At Action Park. If you are in the 'I hate Shellac' camp, then you should probably stop reading now.

Similar to the band in my previous review, Shellac is not a record making/touring juggernaut. It has been seven years since their last release and they have only played a handful of shows, but time has done more to prove that the band has grown and refined their distinct sound. Make no mistake about it, Excellent Italian Greyhound is vintage Shellac. There is no confusing the acidic guitar tone of Steve Albini or that rumbling, fuzzed-out bass punch of Bob Weston. The drumming of Todd Trainer is delivered with a precision that few can replicate, always knowing when to keep to the groove or branch off into something a little more free form. The record was recorded at Electrical Audio Studios, owned by Albini, and home to some of the best drum sounds ever captured on tape (in this writer's humble opinion).

So why does Excellent Italian Greyhound deserve such high praise? Simply stated, it delivers the trademark Shellac sound and still finds a way to explore new ground. The opener, "The End of Radio" is an eight minute and thirty second ride through a pulsing bass line over random drum hits and Albini reciting various radio phrases in an up-front, confrontational manner. The record then leaps right into "Steady as She Goes", a song they performed live in the Brendan Canty produced Burn to Shine series. "Genuine Lulabelle" is by far the most experimental song on the record, and we hear Albini sing on his own, which leads into voice overs and sound clips. It's delivered in such a creepy manner that it really forces the listener to pay attention, and by the time the instruments have come back in, its four minutes later and the crack of that first snare drum catches me off guard every time. For my money, the best song on the record is the closer, "Spoke". It starts off like some twisted commerical jingle from 1983, then Albini says "play the drum!", Trainer breaks into a solid rock beat, and Albini and Weston trade off on some pretty aggressive vocal lines until the end.

Love them or hate them, Shellac don't capitulate to anyone. It is quite obvious that they make music the way they want to, and that trait alone is a notable achievement in today's musical climate. I would highly recommend picking up this record if you have the chance, or even just listening to it once if you consider yourself a "non-believer". Of course, all hatemail can be directed here.

Last Friday, Chicago Public Radio's Radio M host Tony Sarabia interviewed 2/3 of The Eternals for the first hour of the show, and then played a variety of songs chosen by vocalist Damon Locks and bass player Wayne Montana. If you haven't heard The Eternals yet, you really don't know what you are missing.

Check out the interview here for an interesting perspective on how music from all over the globe inspires what The Eternals do.

AACM founding member/Velvet Lounge owner Fred Anderson teams up with percussionist Hamid Drake for back to back performances at the Stop Smiling Headquarters in Wicker Park (tonight), and tomorrow evening at the Velvet Lounge. The duo released an album on April 24th entitled From the River to the Ocean to much critical acclaim, and have further etched their legacy of musicianship and talent to the Chicago Jazz scene. They will be joined by Josh Abrams, Jeff Parker (of local heroes Tortoise), and Harrison Bankhead, all of whom contributed to the latest record.

With all of the really weak, cookie-cutter 'metal' (or whatever you want to call it) floating around these days, its a breath of fresh air to see a band like Big Business make a room come alive. It's gritty, angry, raw music, and if they come to your town, I would highly recommend checking them out in a club setting before you are paying 50 bucks a ticket to see them at some arena. Don't make me say I told ya so!

First of all, if you are going to name your band Big Business, you better know how to bring it. Last night at the Empty Bottle, I had my first chance to see them live, and in this writer's humble opinion, they lived up to my expectations... and then some. While the sound in the room wasn't up to snuff (it did get mildly better as the set went on), I'm not going to fault the band for that. Bass player Jared Warren, drummer Coady Willis, and a dude referred to as Toshi (I've searched for references to who this guy was and I can't find anything... sorry) crashed through almost every song on their latest release Here Come The Waterworks. Warren's bass lines were a sludgy, brutally intense mixture of melodic chords and driving rhythms that resonated at a menacing level. Willis was an absolute animal behind the kit, providing some truly anthemic beats at the drop of a hat. The guitarist/noisemaker was pretty much inaudible for most of the set except for the quieter moments, but since I expected only two dudes on stage, anything extra was an added bonus. It is no surprise that Willis and and Warren are now the rhythm section for Montesano, Washington's favorite sons, Melvins.

Check out the video I took of 'Grounds for Divorce' on their newest record.

If there was only one item of wisdom I could pass to someone going to see Melt Banana for the first time, it would be the following:

Wear earplugs. Seriously.

Of course, about midway into local openers Locks set, I came to the realization I was without my trusty earplugs and was about to be subject to a serious aural ravaging by the upcoming headlining act. One would think that after years of attending shows, bringing some ear protection would be quite the routine act. Add this to the laundry list of items of why sometimes... I'm just not the sharpest knife in the drawer. As I sit here and write this almost 12 hours after the show, that high pitched ringing in my ears is a constant reminder that will hopefully serve as a good lesson learned for next time.

Anyways, back to Melt Banana. I've never considered myself a huge fan of the band, but I have had the pleasure of seeing them on multiple occasions now, and each time my respect and admiration for their craft increases tenfold. This band has remained together since before I started high school (that would be 14+ years ago), a tremendous achievement by any band regardless of stature. They have also managed to do this while living on that little island country we know as Japan... a place not necessarily known, in general, for its bastion of art-noise-punk bands. However, their regular tour stops in the US and the UK have earned them quite the rabid following worldwide, and seeing one live performance really punctuates how they've been able to do it.

So Melt Banana proceeded to rip through an hour long set at the Abbey Pub last night, and the crowded house was subjected to a sonic assault of old favorites, as well as some new tracks from their May '07 release, Bambi's Dilemma. In true Melt Banana fashion, about midway through their set, they broke into a series of 10-20 second songs consisting of calculated, tight bursts of musical energy accompanied by the frenzied, barking vocals of Yasuko O. Even if you aren't a fan of the band, one has to appreciate the surgical precision of the riffs they can pull off live. This is where Melt Banana simply outperform other bands in the same genre. While most bands that attempt to create as much of a ruckus as they can, it can often come off as sloppy and unintelligible. To my ears, Melt Banana's noisy side is merely a byproduct of the intricate, solid songs they create. Even when the band is in full freak-out mode, it is still relatively easy to pick out what each band member is doing, and parts are not just getting lost in the mix.

With the decibel level in the room approaching absurd levels, coupled with the fact that I was sans earplugs, perhaps listening for this aforementioned attention to detail caused my ears permanent damage, but the chance to see an incredibly solid band work a room to a fevered pitch is worth seeing every time.

Here is a video of a song I captured about half-way through their set. I'm about 98% sure the song is 'Hair-Cat (Cause the Wolf Is a Cat!)', which appears on Adult Swim's Perfect Hair Forever.

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 play a free show tonight at the Pritzker Pavillion, located in Millennium Park. Seun is the youngest son of Nigeria's own Fela Kuti, arguably one of the most revolutionary musicians of the 20th century. Egypt 80 was Fela's backing band, and is now fronted by Seun. They helped forge the style of music known as afrobeat, and influenced countless musicians from James Brown to Brian Eno. According to Seun Kuti's myspace page, here is what you can expect from their live show:

It is hard to imagine that the leader, able to emulate his father’s songs and style with such grace, is a mere 24 years old and his sister, Motunrayo Kuti, still one of the most vibrant dancers on stage. Bearing his Dad’s looks, Seun is a great saxophonist, an activist and groovewriter. He promises a serious funk mix of new album material and Fela classics which won’t let you stand still. The band is a power-house of explosive dance grooves, the hookiest basslines, big spectacle and politicised energy. Much of the magic of their live shows derives from the energetic exchange between at least 18 musicians and dancers. It's a full-on, funk-happy sound that'll take you to the edge and back

The show begins at 6:30pm. Be certain to bring your best dance moves.