Biography
Brick Layer Cake stood out as a far more credible vehicle than the typical side project allowing a drummer to claim center stage, revealing the dual nature of Todd Trainer, previously known through Rifle Sport, Breaking Circus, and Shellac. Abandoning drums entirely, Trainer handled guitar and vocals, with contributions from Rifle Sport colleague Gerard Boissy and producer Brian Paulson rounding out the lineup. Steve Albini stepped in on drums for select live appearances. Trainer’s gruff yet incisive vocals, paired with the band’s weighty, minimal arrangements and their occasional but pointed melodic touches, defined the project’s sound. Ruthless, the independent Chicago label, issued the Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth EP in 1990. The following year Touch & Go put out a second EP titled Call It a Day. Three years later the same label released the full-length Tragedy Tragedy in 1994, appending Call It a Day as bonus material on the CD edition. An eight-year gap ended in 2002 with the arrival of Whatchamacallit, on which Trainer performed every instrument in the manner of Stevie Wonder and Prince while Albini handled engineering duties.
Albums
