Alternative rock

If Fugazi were going to spring a major surprise, it was never going to be a comeback tour. But we've got the next best thing: a Bandcamp Friday release of the "Albini Sessions" versions of the material that went on to be re-recorded for In On The Kill Taker, their finest LP.

Some of the tracks were leaked years ago and have been floating around the internet for a while, but this is a bona fide official release to benefit a cause that was very close to Albini's heart. Fugazi's Bandcamp page tells the story behind the sessions, as well as featuring a video in which Albini talks about the vital work that Letters Charity - which he founded with his wife Heather - does to combat extreme poverty. The substitution of Chicago's Sears Tower for the Washington Monument on the cover is a neat touch.

It's a strange experience listening to an album you know so intimately in a slightly different form - not least due to the alternative track sequencing. Does this suggest that Fugazi originally had a different running order in mind?

In terms of playing spot the difference, there is of course the trademark Albini drum sound, but also alternative guitar work in the heavier sections of 'Returning The Screw'. Meanwhile, '23 Beats Off' lacks the drawn-out feedback carnage that makes it my favourite song on the finished record (and that also helps to mark out In On The Kill Taker as an album on which they were moving further away from their hardcore roots and embracing experimentalism), and overall there is perhaps marginally less intensity.

On balance, then, I prefer the version that came out of the post-Electrical Audio retreat to the familiar surroundings of Inner Ear Studios. But if that didn't exist? The mind boggles at the idea that Albini told Fugazi "I think we dropped the ball" and the band agreed. It's only in close comparison that the "Albini Sessions" recordings sound in any way less than brilliant.

What perfect timing to have only just bought Joe Gross' 33 1/3 book on the album...