Spiderland

I had never heard of this album before today, though the album cover looks vaguely familiar. It has that strange "more than the sum of its parts" feeling that a lot of great albums that come out of nowhere have. It certainly presages a lot of the music that will come after it. A lot of what made Slanted and Enchanted feel unique is also present here. It develops so slowly, appropriately like a spider crawling across the wall. The lyrics are dark, but not maudlin. Nothing feels overdone. There's this tension that hangs over the album that, like most aspects of this album, is very hard to define. Halfway through, it feels like the album is just getting started. When it ends, I feel like there should be so much more, but I'm not disappointed. Timeless. 5/5

I’ve listened to it twice and I still have no idea if I like it or not.

The musical equivalent of a snuff film.

Oh, man. The sound of this album sends me way back. I was in an indie band once and the main guitarist absolutely LOVED this album which had a huge impact on the songs he wrote. Weird time signatures, amusical vocals, mid-song shifts in tone... all so familiar. David used the word "pretentious" to describe this album and it's 100% on point. While that band stretched me musically, I didn't actually enjoy the music we made. Nor do I enjoy this album. It almost got 2 stars anyway because the punk roots are strong... but every song is AT LEAST a minute too long and I can't abide bands who don't know when to shut up.

boooooringgggggg. i understand why people have a cult following around this album and understand why i usually want to make fun of those people. This album is giving me sonic blue balls, all these build ups for either a weak payoff or no payoff at all.

I love this album. It's so bizarre, even a little creepy at times with the unsettling atmosphere created by the spoken word lyrics and off-kilter melodies, but it's an amazing experience overall. The quiet-loud dynamics carry such a powerful punch, my favourite example being in 'Good Morning, Captain'.

I feel like there is music that music theorists love that I just don’t get and this album is it.

This gives me anxiety

Truth be told, I wasn't really feeling Slint's vocalist at first; he came off like if the dude from Cake needed someone to talk to. He eventually won me over big time, though, because as the album went on I found his intense, expository drone to be a fitting companion to the music and a crucial piece of the simmering tension that builds up through the entirety of the album. There's a thick layer of unease found all throughout Spiderland, and it pays off in spades, as the most cathartic moment in any of the music this website's thrown my way so far is easily the incredible closing minute of Good Morning, Captain, where everything finally boils over. There are tracks on here that I wouldn't really listen to on their own, but I see myself listening to Spiderland start-to-finish plenty more times in the future. Key Tracks: Breadcrumb Trail, Don, Aman, Good Morning, Captain

If Slint's debut, 1989's Tweez, was one of the earliest salvos in what came to be known as post-rock, their second album, 1991's Spiderland was where the band pushed their most radical ideas forward and created a touchstone, working with dynamics that made the silences every bit as much presence as the guitars and drums, manipulating space and time as they stretched out and juggled time signatures, and conjuring melodies that were as sparse and fragmented as they were beautiful.

Took me about a year of monthly visits to Piccadilly Records in Manchester to finally snag this CD, and was initially disappointed that they didn’t sound like Sonic Youth. I can’t remember whether it was during the third or fourth listen in a row when I fell in love with it, and over that summer it became my favourite album. (Displacing Daydream Nation, arf.)

They're like a grungier american radiohead -- almost touching on this this mythical 'chatterfolk' genre I tried to invent. This album (and band) is amazing - reminds me of getting stoned in high school late at night and watching skate videos and shitposting on Slap Magazine's forums.

Post-hardcore was already a highly experimental genre that took an artsy turn to the abrasiveness and emotional power and intensity of hardcore. And here, Slint takes it so much further. Not just post-hardcore, and not just noise rock (you could hear a lot of Sonic Youth). Really, it goes back to the poetic nature of Velvet Underground. They tell creepy surreal stories that evoke unsettling imagery and matching emotions. And how do they do this? The vocalist swaps between three vocal styles: spoken word, singing, and screaming. The melodies are often simple and quiet when he speaks in spoken word, allowing the audience to pay close attention to what's going on, while the screaming is shrouded by distortion and chaos, but relies on repeated simple lyrics to shift the audience's focus onto the combination effect. This record only has 6 songs, and each one leaves a mark. Even the instrumental "For Dinner..." near the end serves the purpose of reflecting on the record thus far, allowing the audience to analyze the strange melodic characteristics, and prepares them for the climatic finale. Each song tells a powerful story, and I'd immediately recognize each one if you gave them to me on random. It's an original sounding record that has influenced post-rock, emo, and math rock to come, but yet nothing that came after could ever top its folky vibe, thus allowing this record to stay fresh to this day.

If any record deserved to be in this list it’s Spiderland. A record that has inspired so many, growing into a cult classic and an essential album for any collection. Best played on a late autumnal night in darkness. Find their version of Cortez the Killer on the deluxe edition and you’ll know where they got their groove.

Highly influential post rock. Filled with tension and proper moody. Just brilliant!

This album taught me calculus.

Thought this was going to be too weird on the first listen through, but actually it's the right amount of weird.

I really don't like looking at the cover. These guys make me nervous. I don't trust 'em for some reason. I really didn't like this the first time through and liked it even less the second time through. Couldn't really distinguish from track to track, lyrics are more speaky and shouty than singy, nothing really to grab onto. But I kind of got into the groove of it the third time through and really enjoyed Breadcrumb Trail, Washer, and Good Morning, Captain. If I were a different person, I can imagine listening to this late at night in a low-key hang with friends. But my friends and I are old and that would be past our bedtimes.

SPIDERLAND is one of those albums that’s been with me for so long it’s like it’s woven itself into my musical DNA (and maybe even my sense of self). It’s hard for me to review objectively, and I’m not even really going to try. While some of the lyrics are (as noted by at least one other reviewer here) kinda cringeworthy, so much of the album of so good - the soft-loud dynamics, the use of interesting time signatures, the energy at the album’s high points - that I’m more than willing to give them a pass.

This album was fantastic. Moody, beautiful, unsettling compositions, evocative of early Black Sabbath and Sonic Youth. There is a tension to this sound you could cut with a knife, a sense of real foreboding lurking in every song. The subject matter of the songs speaks a great deal of alienation, social awkwardness, despair. "Nosferatu Man" seems a little out of place thematically, but most of the other characters feel very grounded in reality and emotionally authentic. It's a shame the band didn't create more music after this. Favorite songs: Breadcrumb Trail; Don, Aman; Good Morning, Captain

(if you skip track 1) it's Stylishly made music of seething perfectionism. Akin to listening to eloquently phrased pain, there are some very atmospheric moments, with "Washer" we get a taste of something a bit more cinematic, with building a menacing undertone, oh yes the foreboding is rising, especially if you listen to the lyrics .... It's an 8 minute track. The kind of music a pensive serial killer might unwind and do the dishes to. I admire the art, but in the end, I dislike it.

This album is my kind of weird. I've been recommended to listen to this by Spotify several times throughout the years. I can see how a lot of people might not like it, but I think it's it's pretty strong. Worth the effort to spin a few times.

what a treat, haven't heard this in ages. a classic of the '90s, I was surprised to see it came out in 1991, seemed much more recent, probably a reflection of its later influence. The guitars and drums tie together so intricately, this is basically the indie Marquee Moon. Breadcrumb Trail and Washer are highlights but it's all incredible. The former reminds me of Galaxie 500 at their best (mild praise but accurate). I believe Mark likes this too

I've heard this once or twice in the past, but it was good to give it a couple of listens with more attention. Super influential on a bunch of the genres that make up post-rock, you gotta love that quite/LOUD dynamic. I was already thinking 4 stars, but an extra listen or two, including all the demos, has pushed me up to 5. Fave track - maybe "Don, Aman", maybe "Good Morning, Captain". Kinda feel like I want to listen to this album while reading the lyrics, which is not something I experience very often!

Really like their combination of spoken word and singing and the quiet loud dynamics.

A very unique album, its sounds as if it was from the 2000s, not from 1990 - it was way ahead of its time. It's dark, haunting, something different than I have ever heard before. It's more than an album - it is an experience.

Spiderland is the biggest piece of dogshit I’ve ever listened to, and I say that with full awareness that actual effort went into it. Someone had to think these ideas. Someone had to rehearse them. Someone had to record, mix, master, and at no point did anyone say, “Maybe this doesn’t need to exist.” For that alone, I can't grade it a 0/10. Musically, this album sounds like a band actively trying to remove pleasure from rock music. The guitars creep around like they’re afraid of being noticed, the bass sulks, and the drums show up only to remind you that time is passing and you are not enjoying it. The vocals are half-spoken, half-muttered, as if the singer is embarrassed to be heard but insists on talking anyway. Nothing resolves. Nothing satisfies. Every song feels like it’s building toward something and then decides not to, out of spite. It’s tense, awkward, and emotionally cold, like being trapped in a conversation with someone who insists this is “about the atmosphere.” And yet, here’s the annoying part, I didn’t completely hate the experience. Not because it’s good, but because it’s committed. Spiderland believes in its own misery with absolute sincerity. It’s not accidental garbage; it’s carefully constructed, intentional discomfort. You can hear the thought, the labor, the decisions, even if all those decisions led directly to boredom and irritation. So no, this is not a masterpiece. It’s not genius. It’s not even enjoyable. But it is the result of people working hard to make something this unwelcoming, and I respect the effort more than the outcome. 3/10. I won’t recommend it. I won’t defend it. But I acknowledge that someone suffered to make me suffer, and I respect that.

Who is this for

Not a fan, the best portions of songs sound like what I image Tool would’ve sounded like when they were in elementary school ….

Heard Before? Many times, but it has been at least ten years. Notes: - the thin, dry production suits the material, especially the uncompressed drums. - BUT why bury the vocals so completely? it might have seemed edgy and clever at the time, but it is just annoying. - all the guitar tones sound cheap, sometimes to the point of distraction. - and yet, and yet. such strong, varied, inventive songs, with fascinating interplay between band members. - if one cares to decipher them, the lyrics are also spot on, just perfect. - sequencing, pacing and use of space are exemplary. Slint's many imitators never quite caught on to that. Verdict: It sounds like a monochromatic polaroid of dissolute youth in an alley. Desolate, disconnected and doomed, but also beautiful. Listen Again? For sure, but in another ten years.

One of those bands I seldom listen to but am always blown away by when I do. Incredible use of dynamics; creating very delicate and soft moments that later explode with power. Few bands attempted this style and even fewer succeeded.

The sub-3.0 average rating on this album reveals yet again the bias of the average user of this site. This album has an atmosphere like no other. At times heavy and menacing at times, and at others unnervingly quiet. I love the playing on here; the dissonant, jarring guitar riffs and the textured and provocative drumming. Many people think heaviness in rock or metal comes simply from volume or speed, but this album displays a powerful heaviness that is also very intricate. "Nosferatu Man" is excitingly aggressive, while "Washer" is among the most immersively depressing songs I have ever heard. "Good Morning, Captain" perfectly realizes its thoroughly unsettling, forbidding mood. Fantastic album. Wish the band had made more albums after this one.

The whole album revolves around one melody, the omnipresent doo doo doodododo do do that is played on every instrument. You can't call the album catchy, but it has a way of sticking to your brain and corrupting your thoughts.

What a great album.

Very thick athmosphere. I can see why Albini loved it.

Spiderland I’m sure I’ve heard the name Slint mentioned before, but I didn’t really have any preconceptions before listening, apart from remembering they might be a grunge/alt rock band judging from the name, and year of release. While it has the feel of early 90s US alt rock I found this far more interesting and engrossing than a lot of that music. The tempo, guitar sound, sparseness, and repeating, mesmeric grooves and riffs are musically and emotionally much more satisfying and resonant than many of their peers. There’s a bit of Neil Young/Crazy Horse, a bit of Sonic Youth, and you can hear Steve Albini’s production style clearly, but it feels apart and separate. It’s drums, bass, guitar and vocals but it has a distinct feel and atmosphere; tense, eerie and reserved, but also confident and assured, it’s pretty unique. Aside from the guitar tone I love the drumming, it’s got a slight Can and Dub feel to it, it’s slightly spacey and untethered, but also hits some great grooves alongside the guitars. And I like how the alternating spoken word and singing helps give it’s own character too, without the stereotypical US rock voice of the period. After the first listen I wasn’t expecting to end up liking this as much as I did, it’s very hypnotic, and I was very happy to let it run on repeat, the swirling and narcotic atmosphere washing over me. I’m certain this will improve with more listens and it’s almost a 5, but I’ll go 4. 🕷️🕷️🕷️🕷️ Playlist submission: Washer

Well! This one takes you on a ride. Basically poems, spoken more than sung, with low-key (until it suddenly isn’t) music in the background. But the poems tell stories that are haunting. Don Aman is the standout track for me in this aspect. It sneaks up on you .. At the first song I was thinking “oh come on what is this and why did it make the list?”. (The first song is badly placed in my opinion). By the end I was thinking, huh this is really interesting, although I’m not going to go as far as to say enjoyable. Just submit to it, and let yourself sink into the tension. The last two songs really being the whole thing to fruition. I’m sure it will be polarizing- it sticks to is own style the whole way through, so people are going to love it or hate it I imagine. But it didn’t sound like anything else, that’s for sure. (PS if you're a filmmaker and are looking for background music for a creepy suspenseful western scene, the song “For Dinner” is here waiting for you.)

Unquestionably influential and starkly minimalistic.

Re-listen. I think this album is really interesting, although “Breadcrumb Trail” and “Good Morning, Captain” are the only songs I really listen to outside of it.

Such dark atmosphere while also feeling so raw is incredible. I see why this didn't hit and why it has grown into a phenomena since then.

The first time I became aware of Slint was in the late 1990s. My housemate at the time was sleeping with the editor of a sadly departed TV listings magazine, and after coming back from London where they'd engaged in a threesome with a relatively well known television pundit, one of the pairing was wearing a Slint tshirt. I remember this very well, because the format of the text spelling "slint" coupled with the folds of the fabric to make the "sli" very much look like a "cu". I thought this was a particularly splendid tshirt to be worn by anyone, the editor of a sadly defunct TV listings magazine. The Slint tshirt went on to make many appearances at my house. One evening was spent in deep analysis of the film "Nightbreed" - written by Clive Barker and based on his short novella, "Cabal". Cabal has a very fond place in my heart, as me and my friend Gareth were thrown out of English class, aged 11, for laughing so much at the sex scene between Lori and Boone. Of course, I'm pretty sure that Clive Barker, a gay man, would be delighted to know that his heterosexual sex scenes were a source of such amusement to two pre-teenage boys in 1991, but we laughed and laughed and laughed. Anyway. Yes. So I've known about Slint for over 20 years, however this is the first time I've actually heard them. They're OK.

I had never heard Spiderland and on first listen it seems a pretentious affair - especially the iTunes version with 15 minutes of field noises from the quarry the cover image was taken at - but it starts to grow on you with repeated listens as a moody, dramatic, menacing soundscape. There’s no real theme, the lyrics offer us no clue, the spoken word isn’t even poetry and yet there’s something compelling here. What the band were done playing these proto-Radiohead/Mogwai tracks in 1991 is anyone’s guess. Four stars for now but I could see it getting five with repeated listens.

Spiderland has that distinct '90s underground, pretentious vibe. It's moody, minimalist, and a little off-center. It’s not terrible, and there are moments that you think the payoff is coming, but it never really goes anywhere.

DNFed it--probably a good album, just wasn't in the mood for the genre.

So I really enjoyed “Spiderland” by The Slints… Had never heard of them, nor any of their songs – but was pleasantly surprised… The highlight of the album is the hypnotic, heavy instrumental compositions – and while there isn’t much diversity throughout the album – what they do, they do incredibly well… Unfortunately, from a vocals perspective – there really aren’t any to speak of… Oh there are lyrics throughout the album – mainly a low-level spoken word kinda thing, with an occasional attempt at singing, but really not even passable… You could argue that it was “their sound or style”, but any objective review would call it like it is – dreadful… Would have been really interesting to hear those tracks with a competent rock vocalist who could have really done something with it… The other complaint, was that the audio quality sounded like the recordings of the band that I was in while in college calked “The Edge” (i.e. No – there are none of our albums on this list, and yes – we had our name before U2 blew up and their guitar player stole our name – but I digress… : ) Oh it’s fine, but it’s pretty raw – and maybe that was intentional, but the drums sounded just like mine did when mic’d up and recorded in the early-80’s… : ) By far, the best track on the album IMO, was “The Washer” – with “Good Morning – Captain” a distant 2nd… Never would have heard this without the 1,001… Would probably give it a 2.75 if I could, but their originality, and heavy sound has got me feeling generous – so a 3 it is…

uhhhhhhhh. This is very much Dan Hart music. roomy, heavy, weird. Don, Aman is a great, unnerving ride of a song. Good Morning, Captain feels so weird and strange. like walking through swamps with muddy boots

Felt like it was trying to be artsy but came off very shallow

So uninteresting I forgot I was listening to them while they were still on. Moments where they almost sounded like Smashing Pumpkins were ok. Just, I dunno. Spoken word is not my bag.

This album is bad, but it does teach us something important. Specifically, if writing songs and learning to play an instrument is too hard, you can always just perfunctorily downstroke the same handful of notes on your guitar while you improvise lyrics and speak-sing a terrible Lou Reed impression. You won't fool everyone, but you might fool someone enough to get you on a list of 1001 albums you must hear before you die.

This isn't as interesting as some suggest. It's also pretty far from music most would qualify as listenable. But I listened to the entire thing in full just to see if something would jump out at me and not be, you know, annoying. Whatever. This is MY journey.

If you enjoy listening to all the worst sounds of the 90s than this is the album for you. The worst of dropped D tuning, a lot of talking with words when they were (I can only assume) wasted out of their minds. Sounds like a bunch of stoners jamming in their basement. Not that there's anything wrong with that I'd just rather not be listening to it. Some of the guitar tones were ok but that does nothing to save the album.

This album and this band, along with Shellac, were instrumental in helping to expand my idea of what loud rock bands could sound like. The guitars don't always have to be pounding away on power chords, there is room for things to be much more dynamic, with the quiet lows just as important as the loud highs. And dissonance is your friend. This album will always be great and despite so many bands trying to sound like these guys, no one really does. They suck live. So does Tortoise.

Exceptionally sorrowful and somber, with hypnotic rhythms. 5/5.

I'm a sucker for complex meter in songs, snd this album delivers in droves. A little off-kilter from a more mainstream sounding rock band, but there's a lot to musically appreciate as well as jam out to. A very pleasant surprise in this project

I've never known what to call this stuff from the early 90s. Indie rock? Post-punk? Experimental rock? Whatever it is, this is the album that inspired Rodan, June of 44, Shipping News and the instrumental post-rock scene. Dynamics baby!

Post-rock royalty. Easy 5.

Incredible. Never heard them or even of them and that's a travesty. Heavy and ethereal at the same time. My favourite surprise of this journey so far. 11/5

This is my 'Nevermind'.

I can’t be objective. Daniel Johns (silverchair) said this album was one of his faves so 14 year old me (massive silverchair fan) hunted it down and has been listening ever since. Haunting and poetic post-rock. 5/5 I’ve now listened to this album in full over 8 times in 24 hours. Washer and Good Morning Captain are divine. All tracks rate highly. 14 year old me was onto something. Putting Slint back in regular rotation. Trivia - Will Oldham aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy took the cover photo. Makes me love this album even more.

oh hell yeah

a solid 10/10 album

no spiders 0/10

This is one of the most surprisingly enjoyable albums of all time.

Saw them play this album live once. With GZA and Sonic Youth. What Friday.

Favs: Breadcrumb Trail Washer Good Morning, Captain Least Fav: For Dinner...

Wow, this is definitely an entry on my list of discoveries I made thanks to this project. Pile, Shellac and others come to mind as bands that were definitely influenced by these guys. Extra point for their somewhat mysterious band history.

Anxiety en depressiviteit. Intens album

FUCKKKKK i love this album so so much

One of my favourites

I’m at a 5. Perhaps slightly higher. I’m not sure how to describe that, really. At its core, it’s essentially an early version of the foundation that Nine Inch Nails would take to a more industrial extreme on “The Downward Spiral”, but here, because it’s still rooted mostly in calmer instrumentals & with a spoken word approach for the vast majority of the album, I found this to be oddly poetic, with a tension building over the course of the album. A great poet knows how to build suspense, letting each line paint more & more of a picture until it finally bursts into life in front of you, with the ability to imagine far beyond just the words you’re presented with. This album fits the bill on all ends; the spoken word / singing / screaming dynamic that acts as a sort of push/pull throughout the album is very effective, used in combination with the intensity of the guitar & the instrumentation to accurately capture a sense of tension & or a changing mood. It certainly helps that the lyricism here paints really, REALLY great pictures; whether it’s the coming-of-age pleasantry behind “Breadcrumb Trail”, the insecurities of love on “Nosferatu Man”, the social anxiety of “Don, Aman”, the suicide note that is “Washer”, or the lamentation of leaving your childhood behind on “Good Morning, Captain”, each track tells its own story very, very well, enhanced further by the vocal / instrumental shifts at play. Even without the lyrics, I think just the tone of his voice & the ways the instrumentals move captures an energy to each track that tells the story all the same. I really want to focus on the last 3 tracks in particular, because I think they’re the highlights of the album. “Washer” is one of the best audio journeys I think we’ve gotten throughout the 673 albums we’ve done so far (counting this one), and the way that track slowly layers its despair with the passing realization that this guy is gonna kill himself is done incredibly well. It just sort of stunlocked me, and while I might be able to kind of understand someone bouncing off of that track, I think the fact that I didn’t even really notice the last 3 minutes of somber guitar work fly by as I just sat and digested it says a lot about how effective that track is. The next track, “For Dinner…” being an instrumental afterwards, allowing the listener to just sit & reflect on it further, is a very good choice as well. While listening to it, I noticed that the track always tries to lift into something bigger, and yet never really gets there itself, eventually paralyzing itself into one note, almost as if the track itself is mourning the suicide from the last one, unable to move on. Even the title implies to me that it’s a routine that simply can’t be finished as normal, since it just trails off. “Good Morning, Captain” is super effective, in a way that I’m not sure that I can really describe accurately. The entire buildup of this captain & this boy (who is either his son, himself, or some other childlike representation of his youth) is really well done in the storytelling, and it’s paid off brilliantly in the vocal / instrumental outro, especially when Brian McMahan belts out those last lines with a visceral ferocity that feels like it came deep from within his soul. It needs to be heard & experienced to truly feel, and I certainly felt it. I think it’s a great closing track that solidifies the whole thing as a truly great album. So, yes, I’m at a 5. It might be a little higher, even. This thing came out of left field with its post-rock, math rock, whatever the hell mish-mash of genres it has on Wikipedia & surprised me by being as brilliantly designed, thought out & effective as it is. It feels like it’s pioneering, to some degree, even if the tree of influence this album might’ve spawned took a while to sprout. I’m very glad it’s on the list, as I never would have found it otherwise. Not bad for a 6-track album made from some Kentucky boys.

loved this album since hearing it for the first time in college. crazy it came out in 91

Eu gostei muito

This is so sick. The riffs are great, they have such a driving force and create an eerie, sinister, or tense vibe that feels like you're trapped in, well, a spiderweb. Nosferatu Man is awesome and the Don, Aman, with its absense or drums, builds the tension even more. And finally Good Morning, Captain caps off the album with a disorienting and chaotic song that perfectly represents the experience from the 30 mins prior.

These guys are the World's second best Black C,NR tribute band. Good Morning, Captain is so so good, a unique masterpiece. It has a haunting vibe that I can't think of anything else quite like. Fave Tracks: Breadcrumb Trail, Nosferatu Man, Washer, Good Morning Captain 4.5/5

Always a fave!!!!!!

This is one of those albums I don‘t put on when I want to have a good time. Masterful instrumentation, amazing atmosphere, it‘s just not really a fun time.

Sounds very familiar though I've never heard it before. It seems like a lot of bands were inspired by them.

This is #day407 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… it's good to see this record on the list. I discovered the band about ten years ago, when I was dipping my toes into post-rock, slowcore, sadcore, and some post-hardcore. Spiderland is a gem that sits somewhere in between all of these. The music is dark, unsettling, and, well, like a spider creeping. It goes without saying that this is one of the most essential records of the early '90s, and of modern rock in general. "Washer" is my favorite piece here. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day408.

Slint’s music took its sweet time to register with me, but nowadays this is one of my go-to albums when I'm feeling down in the dumps. Considered as early purveyors of post rock, Slint’s approach to songwriting differs somewhat to the “crescendo-core” style which would become the dominant force of post rock in the 00s and beyond, whilst also providing a clear blueprint for what was to come. Slint (and others such as June of 44 and Tortoise) walked with the idea of building from quieter, shimmery passages into agonistic releases of tension so that the likes of Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai could run, however Slint’s music has a distinctly more angular, volatile and abrasive nature to it as opposed to the largely linear, grandiose and hopeful approach of later acts. Their climaxes are shorter lived and significantly less easy on the ear, best showcased on “Don, Aman”, “Washer” and “Good Morning Captain”, with throes of optimism very much at a premium throughout Spiderland. The overriding mood is one of disharmony, alienation, longing and existential dread, particularly as you advance into the second half of the album where an air of resignation begins to set in, following a comparatively raucous first half. Brian McMahan’s vocals are often spoken or even whispered, but also share a commonality with the exploits of earlier emo and post hardcore frontmen of the time when he goes for that wailing, desperate louder style. His lyrics come from a place of loneliness, but also of social anxiety, his narrative writing laying bare his struggles of tussling between the two conflicting predicaments. The sum total of Spiderland makes for an uncomfortable, yet strangely sentimental listen for me, and one which I have really gravitated towards in recent years.

LETS GO it’s so peak

Ahead of it's time and completely holds up today.

Never heard of asking, but I really enjoyed this album. The mix, the lyrics just pulled me in.

This was a real surprise. Really loved it. What a mood. Very modern for the early 90s. Went out and bought this

Legendary post rock album, so good it hurts. I have listened to this album at least 50 times over the years. No skips. Good Morning, Captain, and Don, Aman are among the best post rock songs I have ever heard. Fucking insane that Laughing Stock by Talk Talk came out the same year. I feel like this is one that kinda grows on you, and really benefits from being revisited every year.

5/5. I remember listening to this a lot in high school but just enjoying the vibes, as a depressed teenager. Now as a depressed adult, I can see the inspiration this took from along with the influence it provided to future post rock albums. The guitar work is chilling and effective and although the vocals can easily be a turn off, they work very well with this music, culminating in a unsettling walk through a dark forest, or floating in a black lake, unable to see the bottom not knowing if you should move or stay still. It's an effective piece of art and well worth its legacy. Best Song: Breadcrumb Trail, Good Morning Captain, Nosferatu Man

extremely interesting. very eerie album, and the atmosphere throughout is filled with this tense darkness. Also very cool music theory.

Remek djelo od početka do kraja

Grunge elements Narration Ominous Anatomy (game) vibes Lynchian

Rock album as art. I'm with Albini: "ten fucking stars"

Incredibly cool record with a lot of lore.

This album is a force. The closing track especially.

Incredible, intense, daring, unique. There's a whole world on this album. No wonder it inspired so many to explore its riches.

Clinical and intense, ferociously avant-garde guitar music. A true magnum opus.

I absolutely love this album.

Post rock perfection. Never tire of this album

mfers never taken a drunk piss on a tree and it shows (top 25 OaT probably one of my most listened albums)

(sorry for getting personal and cheesy) I'm not sure how to explain why this is possibly my favourite album I've heard so far in 18 years. It feels quite cheesy to say that this album takes you to its own land, given that its called spiderLAND, but that's all I can say really. The land it takes you to for me is partially a fantasy world with funfairs, rollercoasters, castles, princes and lonely people, which the lyrics are mostly talking about, which I like A LOT. But I feel like you are also taken to the real world of the band members and their lives, as they are a similar age to me when they made this, and deep down, the things they were singing about and playing are a result of very personal circumstances, and a lot of musical development. (I partially arrived at this opinion on my own, but also from watching the documentary and reading the booklet in the record). Instrumentally, this album is totally unique from every single piece of music ever recorded, and it feels like the perfect combination of factors made this album exist. The hardcore punk scene which inspired bands which these members were previously in, and also probably inspired some of the heavier parts on here. I've heard that the Minutemen were a big influence on playing clean parts, which I can hear to an extent, but I think largely its just mostly talent and innovation. I think the 'playing a chord and moving the bottom note down or up one semitone', which is the main discernable 'style' adds to the 'spooky mysterious fantasy land' to me, which makes this album feel quite a lot like a book to me, I suppose I have made up what the 'Spiderland' is. Britt Walford has to be one of if not my favourite drummer, just mostly for not following ANY conventional drum rules, so it seems. The guitar parts are the highlight for me, obviously, the way that both of the parts often play a very similar line, but with slight harmonic differences to set them appart. Also David Pajo's strange and simple 'solos' like the one note bending solo at the end of Washer, or the harmonics at the end of Good morning captain. I was listening out for the bass parts, and they are generally quite minimal I found, but I think that works so well when you have very complicated guitar parts over the top of it. Favourite songs: all - totally equally as well. Overall I think its a perfect melting pot of circumstances personally and total uniqueness musically. Overall around 10/10

I personally have not heard Slint's music although I know "Spiderland" is a Rate Your Music classic. — Slint has a super sparse, fractured, atmospheric sound, that reminds me of Black Country, New Road, even though they arrived first. I couldn't hear a word from the vocalist, as his vocals oscillate b/w seamless mumbles and hoarse screams, but the instrumentation is fantastic. The songs themselves are long, moody and shift in tempo and tone. I've noticed people calling "Spiderland" pretentious, but the album is too imperfect to be deliberately trying too hard. It has an almost cultish demeanour. Although I probably won't return to Slint in the future, listening to this album was an enjoyable experience.

I knew nothing about Slint before today, however, there are countless bands still making music that sounds like this and I've seen many of them over the years in small bars and DIY spaces. I wish I had found this when I was younger. I think the hardest part of trying to make music as a teenager was figuring out where the music in my head fit into the broader music landscape, and that challenge drove me to force different styles on myself so I could fit in better. I'm not sure I even knew post-rock was a thing at the time, which is pretty unfortunate. This feels much closer to the music I would have made naturally than the metal-based music I ended up trying to make. My blues roots gave me a love for jamming and letting the groove slowly build, but my only point of reference for that type of music was classic rock and actual jam bands (Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Phish, etc) and that wasn't a sound I was interested in creating. Realizing there was a whole genre where people did that with heavier distortion would have been a revelation for me, and would have helped me share that vision with potential band mates. Sadly, the 2005 reunion was just barely too late for me to notice; one or two years earlier might have changed my life. Or not, who knows. "Breadcrumb Trail" "Washer" (even if the vocals aren't quite in key) "Good Morning, Captain"

Spiderland offers some of the most discordant and jagged loud-rock riffs put to tape. On the other side of the same coin, it’s an album that utilizes space, silence, mood, and dynamics unlike perhaps any rock record to come before it, and remains an influence for those that came after. Of course this is a dark album without question, but it goes beyond that.. this is a masterclass in harnessing the feeling of unsettledness. From the first note, insecurity.. before the first note even, look at the album’s cover. It’s so ominous. There’s something bubbling under the surface over the course of this album’s runtime. Like a horror movie in which you never actually see the monster and the setting is the scariest part, a silent scream in human form starring at you through a one-way mirror trying to shatter the glass in front of it.. Spiderland is a short film that leaves you on the edge of your seat.