Spiderland: a post-rock masterpiece
Author: Jonathan Kočevar
Date: Monday, June 06, 2022
Tags:
music
Recently I have been in quite a writers block. I have many writing projects on the go but have really slowed down recently doing alot of research. I have been looking for new passionate topics to post about for the shorter, more heartfelt posts on the page. I figure I should write about music, and thought why not write about one of my favourite albums that I have been listening to for a few years but only recently came to really truly appreciate? That being Louisville band Slint’s sophomore album, Spiderland. The relatively short album, only spanning 6 songs over 39 minutes, is an extremely heavy experience. I’ve listened to the album over 100 times through, and love it just as if it was my first time. I’ll give a track-by-track rundown of what I thought on each piece below.
The first track of the album, Breadcrumb Trail introduces the truly revolutionary sound of the album. The dynamic high but soft sound really shines on the track when combined with the spoken word poem of a boy and a fortune teller riding a roller coaster and sharing the moment. The screeching of the guitars mimicking the highs and lows of the coaster as the boy and fortune teller ride sound like nothing I’ve heard much before when in combination with the soft, calm lows immediately following.
The second track, Nosferatu Man, labelled after the cult-classic horror Nosferatu (1922) expands on the low but rough instrumentals. Imagery of vampires and creatures haunt the lyrics of the spoken word from vocalist Brian McMahan, while the guitars almost sound like they rip in and out of the track, outputting well timed riffs offset from each other. The drums on the track sound like they take a lot more of an active role as well, playing harder and louder into the chorus.
Don, Aman the third track, focuses on the story of Don, a man disillusioned from his surroundings at a party. The lyrics paint Don as isolated and seperate from the group, reflecting rather then enjoying the moment with the rest of his peers. He leaves the party, driving home finding solace and companionship in himself, “In the mirror, he saw his friend”. The instrumentals are relatively tame albiet the uneasy time signature, compared to the rest of the album, but the real focus is on the lyrics. McMahan seemingly reflects much of himself lyrically on the track, sharing thoughts of isolation, fear of social anxiety, and the social standards put upon him. I wholeheartedly enjoy this track every time, and I feel that almost anyone can slightly relate to the social anxiety of Don.
The fourth track on the album, Washer is a calm yet lyrically heavy piece for the album. The build up on the track is slow and eerie, while the lyrics allude to thoughts of suicide and the narrator embracing death. I absolutely loved this track. The instrumentals creeping steadily towards the final dramatic burst of symphonic guitar clashes bring so much life (ironically) to the track. The guitar lead on the last half of the track burst in and scream, diluting quickly after out into the end of the track. While it is the lengthiest song on the short album, I find it to be one of my favourites as well.
For Dinner…, the fifth track is a quiet instrumental which almost feels like a settling of the intensity of the end of Washer. Its calm and in pace, but keeps the ominous and depressing feel of the album. It also serves great as the mellow track before the deep finale on the album.
The album ends with Good Morning, Captain an absolutely lyrically brilliant and intricate track to tie together the whole record. The guitars begin as what I can only describe as tinny and sinewy, while the thick bassline plays against it. McMahan’s quiet and calm spoken word contrasts the thundering instrumentals. The lyrics paint the story of a captain in total disarray, recovering from the destruction of his ship with seemingly no survivors. The story shifts near the end of the track, with the narrator seemingly in distress over regret and a desire to rekindle some sort of relationship, trying to “find my way home” and pleading for forgiveness. The familiar heaviness and rawness of the guitar and bass like on the tracks Breadcrumb Trail and Washer kicks back in near the ending of the track, The narrator viscerally screaming “I miss you” over top sounds metaphorically like they are almost drowning in the sound. It truly sounds wicked and tortured. The poetic evilness of this track sums up the album incredibly well.
I also really recommend listening to the remastered editions additional tracks. The cover of Neil Young’s Cortez the Killer live from Chicago is really heartfelt and deep cut. I will admit I don’t think that McMahan’s vocal style is the best for the song but the instrumentals are amazing. The additional tracks also cover a bunch of demos (Ive heard that they were all recorded on a tape recorder in the back of an SUV, which if so only makes the songs more impressive) and has a few demos of songs from their first album Tweez, my favourite being Glenn.
I hope this post has convinced you to take a look into Spiderland and Slint’s other works and be introduced to one of the biggest influences on modern rock and post-rock. The dark and evil themes overlaying the whole album are wonderful and the sound is revolutionary. I recently restriked my love for this album and see myself continuing to enjoy it way into the future. Below I have linked some interesting videos I found in relation to the album, check them out :)
