The recording process for STNNNG's new album, Empire Inward, was an indie kid's rock 'n' roll fantasy camp. This past April, the veteran Minneapolis art-rock quintet headed to Steve Albini's Electrical Audio in Chicago for three days.
STNNNG singer Chris Besinger, sharing some relaxed Friday-night pints with guitarist Nathan Nelson at the cozy Tracks Bar in St. Paul. "What you're paying for is somebody who has got 30 years of experience working on all the records that you love, with this insane studio that there's no reason you should have access to."
Still, the band's work with Albini — the studio engineer credited with shaping Nirvana's In Utero, Pixies' Surfer Rosa, and other noise-harnessing classics — had more kinship than some arrangements. After STNNNG (pronounced "stunning") mastered the album at London's Abbey Road studios in November, they played the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in Camber Sands, curated by Shellac, Albini's band.
Albini didn't tinker too much with the band's combustible post-punk sound on Empire Inward, and that's how they wanted it. "In theory, making a record that sounds like what you sound like in the practice space should be the easiest thing in the world," Besinger says reflectively. "But it turns out that's actually incredibly difficult. In a way, it's easier to record an album with a bunch of bells and whistles."
In the boisterous lead-off track, "Ring and Roar," Besinger headily proclaims, "We are men of logic...we are men of art...we are men of science." He says these words serve as both a statement of intent from the band and a reflection of who they are as people. But that modern acuity is contradicted with the tempestuous roil of "Brain-Dumb" that follows. Nelson says the fiery track is definitely a "crotch first" song.
"Some of our songs are 'mind first,' and some of them are 'crotch first,'" Nelson clarifies with a laugh. "We're at our best when we combine the mind and the crotch together." Besinger quickly joins in by joking, "The best ideas always start below the waist and then work their way up."
A consistent self-awareness continues throughout Empire Inward, refuting the stereotype that hard-rock bands are drunk idiots who can't play. Nelson quickly points out: "We're drunk idiots who know how to play our instruments."
credits
released February 23, 2013
STNNNG
Chris Besinger: Vocal
Adam Burt: Guitar
Jesse Kwakenat: Bass
Nathan Nelson: Guitar
Ben Ivascu: Drums
Recorded at Electrical Audio, Chicago, IL.
Engineered by Steve Albini
Vinyl Mastering at Abbey Road Studios, London, United Kingdom
Vinyl Mastering by Alex Wharton
Vinyl Mastering Assist. by Chris Besinger, Nathan Nelson, & Adam Burt
Digital Mastering at Magneto Mastering, Minneapolis, MN
Digital Mastering by Dave Gardner
All song written and performed by STNNNG
A fantastic album. I can see why they didn't continue under the name The Evens, as it's a different sound with the bass added. Coriky is the Evens + Joe Lally from Fugazi on bass. If you can imagine The Evens with a slightly more funky, aggressive sound like Fugazi... that's what you get! And there's no way that can ever go wrong. What a great debut album!! smiledozer
Sludge, Shoegaze, Atmospheric, Heavy Metal, Alt-metal, you name it. This album has it all, and it is perfect. It came out during a rough time period of my life and others lives too. It's been the soundtrack for all of my pain. Thank you Hum tawper
BUFFTUCK - get yer beef bucked in rough luck.
This one's gratis if you want the sequencer of Tangerine Dream to bang a teapot on your open silverware drawer! thenewspaper
i haven't unironically started headbanging to a record since my soul died somewhere in the vicinity of 2015, but this EP did it for me. totally fucking incredible the quality these folks cram into their releases, completely regardless of the length. super super super good. asoftdragon