Big Black were announcing their breakup to audiences before this album even came out. It’s generally faster and more “punk rock” than the previous year’s Atomizer, but some of the songs (“Bad Penny,” “Precious Thing”) are almost pretty, while others (“Ergot,” “Kasimir S. Pulaski Day”) are so noisy it’s like the band is daring you to keep listening, to dig some meaning out of the storm of distortion. Lyrically, Steve Albini has mostly moved from misanthropy to self-loathing, though the album’s “message” still boils down to “people suck and bad shit happens.”

– Phil Freeman