Everyone has their own “Intro to Steve Albini” story, right? We’re of that half that got into Shellac before even realizing what Albini had been responsible for behind the boards when we were introduced to 1000 Hurts during our Retail Warrior daze in the early ’00’s. Among the many, many, MANY records that seemingly got overplayed on the daily (Mind you, this was a “hip” store with no playlist on constant rotation), Shellac’s 3rd album was one of the few of those that ended up in our library and is still played to this day (Cave In’s Jupiter, Andrew WK’s I Get Wet, and CKY’s Volume 1 are some of theothers if you were wondering).
In fact, 1000 Hurts was one of the first pieces of modern vinyl we owned without a record player to our name at the time AND is an album in the regular rotation of our Top 10 of all time. There was just something about the sounds and how every song sounded different but aesthetically was this rad Indie Noise rawk unit. And it was through those Retail Warrior connections we would find ourselves in Los Angeles celebrating a fallen friend through mutuals late in 2018 (And to see “The Band Formerly Known As Isis” one more time) with an opportunity to finally see Shellac live who were playing in the area around the same time. While not much was played off our favorite, the band was a sight to behold and we even purchased a tee from the master hisself (Which has now ended up on a fancy T-shirt quilt/throw as orange on reflection isn’t really our color)!
What is the point of all this you might ask? Well if you didn’t already know Albini tragically passed earlier in the year and many of his fans, peers, strangers, etc… are sharing their stories, memories and more. Which brings us to today and one of our most recent regular faves around these offices, Friendship Commanders, who not only have memories to share but a whole unreleased body of work (Well, not unreleased now…)!
The b.o.w. in question comes in the form of the original mix for BILL which was initially released in 2018 (Produced by drummer Jerry Roe, guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Buick Audra, and Albini and mixed by Albini which actually dropped in the same month that we got to see Shellac) and always intended to be released in some form until 2020 did 2020 things and threw the whole world off its’ axis for a spell. While the circumstances are shitty for sure, FC saw an opportunity to honor Albini by releasing the “new” version on what would’ve been his 62nd birthday (July 22nd) so here we are.
If the weight of Audra’s words didn’t already make the FC sound heavy then going in knowing what the catalyst for this release is makes it all just a little more emotionally heavier. And yes, that is possible to do on a Friendship Commanders record apparently. Recently we had a long car ride to a show and had the opportunity to listen to both versions of the album on the way in and way back and It’s a night and day aesthetic that we mentally compared at the time to listening through Kyuss’ second record first (Blues For The Red Sun) and then listening to debut Wretch. But in FC’s case, this is the same record which is a neat little pickle to be in. So our Blues For The Red Sun in Friendship Commanders’ case was most recent release MASS and from that we can tell you that the Jerry Roe-mixed version sounds like the FC we’ve come to adore so we can see why that was the version that ultimately made its’ way to the masses in an official way
As for the Steve Albini mixes? In a word(s): Raw and unhinged. In a good way! It’s a different kind of FC sound and probably the closest fans would get to the live version of the duo with a frenetic electric feel and a sense of unease in that type of setting where you have to roll with the punches if something goes wrong in front of a live audience. We highly recommend doing a back-to-back listen if you can but we do NOT recommend comparing the two as they’re both exquisite in their own way. In addition, there’s a ton of more great insight into the record from Audra herself in a brand new interview over on High-Pass Filter from Sapling’s own Rainy Maple Sugar that you can read here.
BILL arrived (again) on July 22nd and the band would like to celebrate that with you here for streaming options and here for digital-to-own copies (With digital copies of the new SA mix attached to physical versions of the original). For more from Friendship Commanders, including all the info on future recordings and some just announced upcoming live excursions, follow them across the interwebs and click in all their socials located here, here, and here.