Shudder to Listen
By Ben Tausig

The term "Post-Rock" covers a lot of ground as a buzzword, referring alternately to certain types of experimental, electronic, and acoustic music. At it's root, however, "Post-Rock" refers to music that uses rock and roll instruments and ideas in new ways.

Few bands have done this better than Washington, D.C. outfit Shudder to Think. Drawing upon incredible rhythms and beautifully dissonant guitar sounds, Shudder comes up with a sound that's almost as much metal or jazz as it is rock. Guitarist Nathan Larson plays menacing guitar riffs, while drummer Adam Wade creates stunningly complex rhythms. And holding all of these together are the elegant, falsetto vocals of Craig Wedren, who puts as much feeling into one song as most rock singers put into a whole career.

It's not necessarily easy to listen to Shudder to Think. In all honesty, they rub a lot of people the wrong way. I guess it's because the basic structure of their sound so very closely resembles pop and folk music that first-time listeners expect more pleasant melodies and more catchy lyrics. But that's entirely the wrong approach to this band.

You sort of have to clear all preconceptions you have about music in order to appreciate Shudder to Think. They're not quite metal, or noise, or jazz, or folk, or anything with a label. The band that they resemble most closely on the surface, I would say, is Rush, although please don't stop reading just because I said that. There is so much more to them than that.

They rock harder than most any band around, because they have so much technical skill and creativity to complement their energy and emotion. But they never, ever, enter the territory of overindulgent, overly distorted noise. Still, many people initially get the impression that Shudder is a metal band. This thought is usually offset, however, as soon as the vocals come in or perhaps when a sweet ballad begins to play. You cannot have expectations when you listen to Shudder to Think, you just have to listen with an open mind.

That said, I can move on to the band's legacy. They are well past their prime. In fact, it's not really a stretch to say that they're done making the kind of music previously described. Apparently they make soundtracks now.

The unique institution that was Shudder to Think can be classified as a mid-90's phenomenon. More bands than ever before attempted to elaborate on rock and roll in the 90's, most going in distinctly different directions. While bands like The Flying Saucer Attack, Tortoise, Spiritualized, Stereolab, and Gastr Del Sol have received recognition as post-rock's finest, Shudder to Think have been generally excluded by both critics and fans.

Their albums seem to turn up disproportionately in used record store bins; like I said, they rub people the wrong way. Oddly, the album that turns up there frequently is Pony Express Record, which most directly expresses their genius. If I could recommend one album as the most underrated of the 90's, Pony Express Record would probably be it. Few albums have ever rocked so hard, drawn on so many influences, and yet taken such a new direction. So if you get a chance, take a true musical challenge and listen to Shudder to Think.

This article appeared in the March 6, 2000 issue of the Michinan Independent.