Shellac - Terraform LP

Three and a half years is a long time between albums, especially for indie rock bands. Though Steve Albini and Bob Weston were busy with their respective production careers, the wait between Shellac's 1994 debut album and 1998's Terraform doesn't seem to have done the group any good. What sinks Terraform more than anything else is the opening track, a ten-minute dirge with a repetitive riff and little else to recommend it. After that, the album gets better yet still sounds remarkably similar to the debut, if slightly less noisy (much of it was recorded at the Beatles' Abbey Road Studios). -All Music Guide