UT, Griller (side A)

UT's final album, 1989's Griller, is generally considered their weakest, in part because of an added male drummer identified as Charlie, whose steady pulses sometimes diminished the group's eccentricities. Griller nonetheless displays plenty of UT's weirdness, and as one of Steve Albini's early recordings, his focus on capturing the detail in their awkward and inventive guitar parts really shines. Many of Albini's signature tendencies were already manifest—the drums are very prominent and the violin (where Sally Young plays it) is a bit low in the mix. There are moments where UT seem to be trying to achieve a bit more accessibility and losing a bit of their vision, but Griller is still a strange, inventive, and remarkable album.