SPIDERLAND

Slint is one of the few bands that is depressingly obscure. SPIDERLAND is almost like THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO of the 1990's. Few people bought it, but it still had a wide ranging influence on experimental rock throughout the '90s and into this century. Slint really sound like NOBODY else in the music business then or now. Their combination of spoken/whispered/screamed vocals, dissonant guitar melodies, and off-kilter rhythmic changes is something so unique it can't, and shouldn't, be mimicked. The atmosphere of this album is dark, quiet, and extremely unsettling. Brian McMahan's vocal delivery is one of the main aspects that contributes to this doom-laden mood. Just listen to the songs "Don, Aman" and "Good Morning, Capitain" and you'll be scared s**tless! David Pajo's guitar genius cannot be overstated, as he has a unique style that permeates this album (those high, tapped-string notes on "Breadcrumb Trail" and "Nosferatu Man" are so cool)! Perhaps the most underrated of all the musicians on this album is drummer Britt Walford. He has a drumming style that combines the technicality and looseness of jazz drummers such as Elvin Jones with the sheer muscular force of hard rock, paving the way for drummers like Damon Che. SPIDERLAND is a wonderfully strange and creepy album full of musical surprises that jump out from the eerie silence--much like a musical haunted house. Higlights include: "Breadcrumb Trail," "Washer," and "Good Morning, Captain." GRADE: A (94%)