an easier instrument to manage while singing, and so recruited Josephine Wiggs of the Perfect Disaster on bass. Deal asked Steve Albini, who had worked on the Pixies' Surfer Rosa, to engineer the album. Deal thought it would be fun to form an all-female band, "[like] the Bangles from Hell". She wanted Kelley to be the Breeders' drummer, but Kelley could not get time away from her job as a program analyst. As an alternative, Albini suggested they try Slint's Britt Walford, who used the pseudonym Shannon Doughton for Pod because he did not want his contribution to the album to overshadow his role in Slint. Deal, Wiggs, and Walford rehearsed for a week at Wiggs' house in Bedfordshire, England, before joining Donelly in London for further rehearsals. Recording Pod was recorded in January 1990 at Palladium studio, in Edinburgh, Scotland, which had recording equipment on the first floor and bedrooms upstairs. During the sessions, the band sometimes wore pajamas, and more than once went to a local pub without changing. Although 4AD booked the studio for two weeks, the band completed their recording in a single week. To use the remaining time, the label hired a television crew to film a music video, and the band recorded a session for John Peel's show on BBC Radio 1. Albini—who has worked on thousands of recordings including albums by Nirvana, Page and Plant, and PJ Harvey—describes his role as more technical than artistic, and prefers to be described as an engineer rather than producer. He has a preference for analogue recording techniques, and is noted for his careful placement of microphones in the studio to achieve a nuanced "roomy" sound. Further, in Albini's ethical approach to recording and to the mechanics of the music industry, he makes a point of not attempting to influence the band's song arrangements. He is known for his vocal and dim view of the music industry, and the press often depicts him as not easy to work with. He has also sometimes had a reputation for being misogynist, in part from the name of his former band Rapeman. Despite his reputation, Donelly recalls being especially comfortable working with Albini, whom she found "sweet". Wiggs and Donelly have both commented that although Albini often downplays his degree of influence on an album's quality, for Pod his contributions were considerable. Donelly has praised Albini for the input that