Spiderland

Spiderland
A black-and-white photograph of four men swimming in a quarry lake
Cover photograph by Will Oldham
Left to right: Brashear, McMahan, Walford, Pajo
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 27, 1991 (1991-03-27)[1]
RecordedAugust 1990
StudioRiver North Records (Chicago)
Genre
Length39:31
LabelTouch and Go
ProducerBrian Paulson (credited as engineer)
Slint chronology
Tweez
(1989)
Spiderland
(1991)
Untitled
(1994)

Spiderland is the second and final studio album by the American rock band Slint. It was released by Touch and Go Records on March 27, 1991. Slint's lineup at the time of recording comprised Brian McMahan on vocals and guitar, David Pajo on guitar, Todd Brashear on bass guitar and Britt Walford on drums. Spiderland was engineered by Brian Paulson and recorded over four days in August 1990. The music and vocal melodies were composed throughout the summer of 1990, while lyrics were written in-studio.

Forming in 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky, Slint had met as teenagers playing in the Midwestern punk scene but soon diverged sonically from their hardcore punk roots. By the time they recorded Spiderland in mid-1990, the band had developed a complex, idiosyncratic sound characterized by atypical rhythmic meters, harmonic dissonance and irregular song structures. McMahan's vocal delivery on the record alternates between spoken word, singing and shouting. The lyrics are presented in a narrative style and cover themes such as unease, social anxiety, loneliness, and despair.

Slint broke up shortly before the album's release due to McMahan's depression. In the US, Spiderland initially attracted little critical attention and sold poorly. However, a warm reception from UK music papers and gradually increasing sales in subsequent years helped it develop a significant cult following. Spiderland is widely regarded as foundational to the 1990s post-rock and math rock movements, and is cited by critics as a milestone of indie and experimental rock, inspiring a myriad of subsequent artists. Slint reunited in 2005 to perform the album in its entirety across three international tours.

  1. ^ "Slint Limited 30th Anniversary T-shirt". Touch and Go. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.