Slint - Spiderland

Slint were another band that were largely unappreciated during their existence. They formed in Kentucky in 1986, and split in 1991. In the ensuing twenty years they have slowly garnered a modicum of the respect they deserved in their prime

The Slint sound is sparse, tense, hypnotic and slow tempo. The songs evolve slowly and non-linearly, and often feature breathtaking shifts in dynamics, changing from subdued and atmospheric to ugly and dissonant in the blink of an eyelid. It is music without any obvious antecedents, but with many descendent's - the slowcore and math-rock movements definitely owe a debt gratitude to Slint.

This post focuses on Slint's superb second album, Spiderland. Opener Breadcrumb Trail commences with guitar arpeggios/harmonics, and drifts dreamily with spoken word lyrics for the first minute, before a tempo change heralds the arrival of a dissonant distorted guitar and tormented vocals. The song then enters an extended instrumental break, before returning to the guitar arpeggios/harmonics of the songs introuduction. A. Classic. Nosferatu Man is a mid-tempo and dissonant, with disembodied vocals - the closest the band came to the prevailing grunge trend of the time.

The following three songs are each mesmeric, sparse and subdued. Don, Aman features only clean guitar, bass and whispered vocals for it's entirety, except for a few short unexpected bursts of distorted guitar. Washer and For Dinner...are in a similar vein, with the former picking up in pace and intensity towards the song's conclusion.

Good Morning, Captain is a mid-tempo track based around a snaking, almost funky bassline, with the guitars and spoken word vocals drifting in an out of the mix and occasional short distorted guitar bursts. The intensity lifts towards the song's conclusion with dissonant distorted guitar and tortured vocals.



Slint - 1991 - Spiderland

1. Breadcrumb Trail
2. Nosferatu Man
3. Don, Aman
4. Washer
5. For Dinner...
6. Good Morning, Captain

FLAC Pt1, Pt2
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