Shudder to Think

Thursday, October 30

Though I’d probably be more excited if two other Dischord Records-affiliated bands — Fugazi and/or Jawbox — were to get back together, the recent reunion of erstwhile D.C. post-punk/art-pop quartet Shudder to Think is certainly nothing to sniff at. It took me a little bit to really get into Shudder, mainly due to singer Craig Wedren’s sorta glammy look and uber-dramatic falsetto bleat (the definition of an acquired taste), but I loved the band’s biting, churning guitar-centric grooves and oddly formed melodies, and I was fully converted after one of their especially transcendent live shows in ’92, while they were touring behind that year’s Get Your Goat — still my favorite Shudder disc, though many prefer 1994’s Pony Express Record. The band called it quits when guitarist Nathan Larson departed in 1998, but got back together late last year with a slightly retooled lineup. No word if they’re planning to record new songs, but live, you’ll get a healthy dose of the classics and all the associated brilliant weirdness, and hopefully some of that old intensity, too.

Thu., Oct. 30, 8 p.m., 2008