Formed
in Louisville, Kentucky, USA in the late eighties, Slint comprised
former members of local legends Squirrel Bait - Brian McMahan
(vocals/guitar), Ethan Buckler (bass) and Britt Walford (drums)
- plus David Pajo (guitar). Informed by a typically brutal Steve
Albini production, the band's 1989 debut (later re-released on
Touch & Go Records) featured loud guitar-playing and muted
vocals, each track named after band members' parents and pets.
The abrasive edge was toned down somewhat for 1991's Spiderland,
which saw a number of changes. Buckler had left to form King Kong
while producer Brian Paulson engendered a more sympathetic sound
while maintaining the twin-guitar bite of the earlier recording.
Rather than simple noise, Spiderland incorporated fully developed
songwriting that made the album a popular item within the American
alternative rock scene. However, afterwards progress stalled,
and only one further desultory single was issued in 1994. By this
time Walford and McMahan had joined the Palace Brothers.
Tweez, Slint's first record, was originally released
on the Jennifer Hartman Records label in 1988 and re-issued by
Touch and Go in May of 1993.
Spiderland, number two for the band and the first
released by Touch and Go, saw daylight in April of 1991.
1994 saw the release of an untitled single. It contains a new
version of "rhoda" taken from the Tweez album and one
previously unheard song which mirrors more the beauty of Spiderland.
Whether or not this single acts as fitting homage signalling the
end of Slint, or lights the way for a new era, is open to interpretation.
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