3 out of 5

Produced by: Steve Albini

Label: Africantape

I’m sure you’re tired of being told you sound like Shellac, but brother, it’s just the reality of the thing.  You’ve got the same clipped guitar playing style – short note mangling that gives way to open chord strums – and the same, Weston-y rumbling drums, with the bass offering that same warm support, looping around and smoothing out the discordance.  Flatly sung/spoken vocals.  You’re even recorded by Albini himself…

But I’ll say this: As opposed to coming across strictly as an imitator, Three Second Kiss feels like they’re just writing the Shellac songs Shellac forgot to.  And what’s more – and damn me for saying so, I’m sure – I’ve never thought much of Albini as a lyricist, and Three Second Kiss’ Massimo Mosca’s words, while maybe not super distinctive, are more interesting to me than Steve’s.  The group is also much more consistent: Long Distance is solid, end to end; what it lacks in peaks – something Shellac admittedly excels at, kicking your ass at least a couple times per disc – it makes up for by not doing the Shellac shrug (in which they turn on the post rock autotune and just jam and sing about squirrels for several minutes) on any song.

 So you can relisten to your homemade “best of Shellac” mix, or you can pick up this Three Second Kiss album and hear some new, rawkin’ material.