Forceful Punk With Firepower From Aggressive Trio Shellac

Steve Albini is a true believer. As a producer he’s recorded exceptional works by the likes of PJ Harvey and Nirvana. And as the leader of the band Shellac, he is a forceful, single-minded champion of the punk ethos, minus any pandering to the popular mainstream.

In Shellac’s first performance in Los Angeles, Albini and company arrived at the Knitting Factory on Saturday with a sound inevitably sludgier than its crisp new “1000 Hurts” album. But the playing was direct and clear, full of power and arch musicality not unlike the Minutemen, that late San Pedro outfit Albini noted on Saturday as a key influence.

Albini was on guitar and vocals, joined by drummer Todd Trainer and bassist Bob Weston, each playing as equal partners at the front of the stage, launching simultaneously into a harsh riff. Lengthy instrumental passages were not about the endless jam but focused aggression, layers of thundering rhythm and abrupt explosions of sound.

The music often shared the fire and drama of the records of Nirvana or Harvey, though unrestricted by pop song structures. (And not uplifted by them, either.) The overall direction was experimental yet more primitive than the likes of Sonic Youth. Lyrics were few and irrelevant, mostly angst-ridden and wild.

Despite Albini’s reputation as an abrasive cultural critic, the atmosphere on stage was mostly relaxed, serious and surprisingly droll.