Congregation by Afghan Whigs

Congregation, the Afghan Whigs' third album, came out on Sub Pop on January 31, 1992, and it's the sound of a Cincinnati garage band discovering it had soul. Greg Dulli produced it himself with engineer Ross Ian Stein, cutting the songs at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington, and Buzz's Kitchen in Los Angeles over the summer of 1991. Sub Pop's money troubles stalled the release until Nirvana's Nevermind bailed the label out.

The noise of Up in It is still here, but Dulli, guitarist Rick McCollum and bassist John Curley slow things down and let R&B, soul and funk seep through the cracks. Dulli sings about desire and the guilt that follows it, lovers gone wrong and appetites that don't do what they're told. The album didn't chart, but the record built the band a cult and brought the major labels calling; Elektra won.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.