Cough

The eagerly awaited sophomore album by Dischord's tenacious touring sensation is also their swansong. The sonically-daunting and forward-thinking rock band, which called it quits in April 2004, represented, both musically and ethically, an uncompromising spirit of creative independence. And "Cough" is the sound of a band achieving creative freedom a la Sun Ra or This Heat. Dischord label spokesman, Alec MacKaye, suggests "Cough" will "alienate half of their fans and replace them with as many, if not more, hardcore converts." Recorded in January at Inner Ear by Don Zientara and Ian MacKaye.