Slint- Spiderland (1991)

Slint- Spiderland (1991)

“Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.”

Boris Pasternak

By: Ghost Writer

This has to be definitely one of my favorite records ever, just like the Velvet Underground records, Spiderland is a record that takes you somewhere else, showing you music you never thought could exist, and obviously opening the doors to a big flood of bands that would follow Slint's path, of course Slint, never became celebrities, but they obviously became an important event in music history despite their short and unnoticed for the mainstream, musical career.

Why I ended up buying this record? I don’t know really, it was actually a cassette, the cover was far from interesting, but there was something dark in the packaging, in the title of the songs, no surprise that the guy who directed Kids, used Slint music as a soundtrack for it, it reflects to perfection something really disturbed, I don’t know why, I guess I was expecting something heavy, something more punk rock, but what I got was something even better, emotionally heavy, of course.

Album opener Breadcrumb Trail is an immediate classic, with unforgettable ringing guitars,  a perverse sense of melody ad a twisted take on the quiet loud dynamics (Just check out the thrilling Don, Aman) prevalent in those days,  but Slint somehow managed to create surreal musical pieces that displayed disorientation,  alienation or despair,  making it way more appealing than your Kurt Cobains,  when Slint played their music,  you knew they meant every note, every dangerous note,  was a suicidal note without a doubt,  dangerous music,  of course it was.

Nosferatu Man was every Steve Albini guy you know favorite nightmare, Slint's music had that part of perversion and doom unmatched by noise or punk rock, add to that the maniac swagger and the dissonant guitars and you have the equivalent of every serial killer favorite music, it distilled pain and suffering in every note, in every repetition, and by, these guys knew about repetition, until every note was carved in stone, or deep inside our minds.

Washer has awesome moments of pure sheer beauty with its hypnotic guitar washes and languid subtly sarcastic vocals, the band knew how to be provocative, and how to hide a violent storm behind placid musical arrangements, that was the big trick with them, it was pure danger lurking in the shadows giving every piece an almost unbearable sense of tension never before seen.

Spiderland crown jewel comes in the form of its last track, the totally impressive Good Morning, Captain, a musical masterpiece of pure horror, beauty and despair, the band out doing themselves in every way, creating a sonic experience as exhausting and intense as hardcore punk, there's a unique bass and drum work that deserves to be heard to be believed and the way the chameleonic guitars turn from ringing bells to rabid monsters in seconds is another stunner in this song.

Slint,  and especially Spiderland changed my mind in a lot of ways,  I wouldn't be listening music the way I do these days without this record,  it blew my mind,  and it changed completely the way I appreciate sound and music, it is a masterpiece, the type of music that leaves you changed forever, I hope will be even more appreciated with time.