Rodan - Rusty

Ah, Rodan, how do i love thee? Rodan, a companion piece to the epic and influential Spiderland from Slint. Born from the same Louisville, KY scene as Slint, Rodan forged the angular, spooky post-rock of Spiderland with chunky pieces of DC inspired punk, mixed in some turbulent Big Black inspired moments of Chicago violence and came out with Rusty. Rusty is half responsible for everything from Don Caballero and other math rockers as well as June of 44, Shipping News and a slew of other post-rock bands.
The record starts with the perfect 1-2 mission statement. "Bible Silver Corner" with its pretty and interlocking guitar patterns will lull you with a sense of safety and warmth, only to be shattered by the driving ugliness of the uptempo punk track "Shiner". These are the two extremes you will find here. Though for the rest of the album it is as if the band is trying to strike the perfect balance between these two styles, ratcheting up the tension until its almost unbearable and then shaking you right to the core with massive cathartic release and vicious vocal delivery.
Members include Tara Jane O'Neil, Jason Noble, and Jeff Mueller. Mueller went on to form June of 44 with Fred Erskine of Hoover fame (theres that DC reference again). Noble went on to form Rachel's with piano player Rachel Grimes from Chicago. Tara Jane O'Neil went on to from The Sonora Pine and eventually struck out on her own succesful solo career. And many might know that Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller reconvened in the highly succesful Shipping News. All these bands share that common thread laid forth by Slint and Rodan, and if you have one, you must have the other. All records can be found on the amazing and legendary Touch and Go Records as well as their subsidiaries such as Drag City and Quarter-stick Records. For any fan of post-rock this is another must-have.