This is a spin off of our "Where to Start" series! In this feature we provide an overview on the obscure and relatively known acts with less than five albums. In other words, in this guide we go through a band's discography album by album, telling you our thoughts on each record as well as giving insight into the band themselves and why we recommend them for your listening pleasure. This month: Big Black.
Before his current part time foray with Shellac, Steve Albini first put his stamp on the music-scape through the controversial and far ahead of its time stylings of Big Black. Albini began the project in 1981 after taking a liking to the tireless beats and speed of a Roland TR-606 drum machine. Along with this new tool, he set forth to self record the bass and guitar parts in what would become the project’s debut EP ‘Lungs’. Although it was far from perfect, it contained the blueprints for the band’s eventual style; other worldly/noisey post punk atmospheres, sardonic vitriolic words and a dose of buzzsaw hardcore punk. However, it wasn’t until 1983 that Big Black’s sound would evolve, once Albini settled on Naked Raygun members Santiago Durango on guitar and Jeff Pezzati on bass for the full band line up. Subsequent EPs ‘Bulldozer’ and ‘Racer-X’ took the trio to the next level, bolstering their relentlessness further, which went hand in hand with their ever growing controversial and irreverent demeanour in the musical circuit.
By 1985, Pezzati departed to commit to the aforementioned Naked Raygun. He would be replaced by Dave Riley, who remained with Big Black until their demise. Until that moment, from 1986 to 1987, this trio crafted two untouchable albums of their own design, ‘Atomizer’ and ‘Songs About Fucking’. Not only did they tear the realms of punk, noise and hardcore a new one, they also provided inspiration for what would become industrial rock in the following decade. Trust us, if you’re craving abrasive, confrontational, humorous and out of this world post hardcore, then open your ears to Big Black’s ludicrous hell.
‘Atomizer’
With this 1986 debut, Big Black bulldozed their way into the underground punk scene. They managed to rip open a vortex with warped metallic guitars, lumbering bass and a temperamental percussive machine. The record’s understated harsh garage production went hand in hand with the band’s mean spirited delivery and sadistic satirical themes. ‘Jordan, Minnesota’ and ‘Passing Complexion’ open this horrific sci-fi psychosis with an unapologetic profanity that sucks you into the Chicago trio’s void.
The most intriguing quality of ‘Atomizer’ is how far ahead of its time it was stylistically. Its make up formed the very blueprints that would influence noise and industrial stylings in the following two decades. The album’s “big hit” ‘Kerosene’ testifies to this point, with its jack-hammering rhythms and relentless nihilistic tones. By just listening to this juggernaut one can tell how it impacted the foundations of the alternative scene. Other offerings which make ‘Atomizer’ a must hear include the sinister post punk fuelled ‘Bad Houses’, the razor sharp edge of ‘Stinking Drunk’, and the eerily intrusive ‘Fists of Love’. To put it bluntly, this record is a highly recommended, welcome blow to the head.
‘Songs About Fucking’
Following up such a haemorrhaging beast like ‘Atomizer’ would be no easy task for the average band, but Big Black did this with ease. On 1987’s ‘Songs About Fucking’, the trio managed trimmed the fat of their sound without damaging their raw visceral delivery. For instance, tracks like ‘The Power of Independent Trucking’ and ‘Ergot’ have a crisper bite to them in both delivery and production compared to the sluggish harshness of the previous album. In other words, Big Black sound more despicably cunning and deadly here compared to their previous guttural approach.
With such blows to the senses, another point one can identify is how much more well oiled and tightly wound Big Black are here. The claustrophobic proto-industrial beats from their drum machine ‘Roland’, the slithering bass and serrated guitars dice the soundscape with the trio’s usual darkly sardonic manner. The likes of the pathetically honest ‘Bad Penny’, the tantalising cover of Kraftwerk’s ‘The Model’, the abrasive hammering hardcore in ‘L Dopa’ and the unhinged ‘Colombian Necktie’ keep your ears transfixed to the hellish static. This run of tracks formulate the classic quality that ‘Songs About Fucking’ emits.
Upon revisiting Big Black’s small discography, it is evident that the Illinois trio were far ahead of their time. The ugly sounds they concocted were out of this world and the self managing work ethic they adopted provided a inspirational cornerstone for various genres rooted in the underground DIY scene. The added bonus was their twisted humour, which brought a sense of fun to what it meant to be in a DIY punk and hardcore act. Therefore it is for these reasons that we urge you to take a couple of hours out of your free time to indulge in the mechanical chaos.