Overlooked Albums no2. Big Black - Atomizer

It seems I can't make it a few months without doing a post on one of Steve Albini's three moderately well known bands. In fact, I think this is post number five on said subject matter since September. But as much as I try to steer this page away from sheer albini fanboy obsessing, I keep getting hooked on one of his bands releases and therefore getting the urge to post about it.

Big Black's back catalogue is an undeserved stunted one. Whilst the undeniably fantastic swan song "Songs About Fucking" as well as the greatest hits and the "Pigpile" live album are incredibly easy to get hold of. There were the early EPs and this, their first full length record that are fairly hard to get physical copies of. Why "Atomizer" is being buried is beyond me as I genuinely feel it's at least as good as the seminal last album. With "Atomizer" we see Albini and co taking a largely instrumental approach and what comes from this is one of the most raw and heavy albums of the 80s. Albini's sheet metal guitar pick playing is enough to put any stadium filling "heavy-metal" act of the same era to shame. When vocals are used they're incredibly minimal and recorded low enough in the mix to make them as important as any of the other pieces of noisy aggression going on around them. The one exception to this rule being the album's possibly best track "Kerosene" in which a very basic but still incredibly disturbing tale is told of little town boredom leading to intense pyromania. The guitars and drum machine still doing their best to make the image of the burning and psychosis every bit more real.

Big Black - Passing Complexion
Big Black - Kerosene

songs removed due to the request of Touch & Go records

Check out the currently very limited overlooked albums archive.