Slint
Louisville post-hardcore pioneers who played fewer than 30 shows in their original run, never venturing further west than Kansas City, yet whose 1991 album Spiderland became a foundational text for post-rock. Formed in Britt Walford's parents' basement in 1986 from the remnants of Squirrel Bait and Maurice—when David Pajo showed up to rehearsal with riffs the singer didn't know what to do with, "I guess they just wanted to rock, you know, like more so, and we were just getting into weirder stuff." Made "nerd dude music" that confronted the reality of being "such nerds," as Brian McMahan put it, recording Spiderland over a weekend in Chicago when the average age of band members was 19. Printed Walford's parents' address inside the album, inviting "interested female vocalists" to collaborate. Broke up before the album came out. Reunited in 2005 for All Tomorrow's Parties, toured sporadically through 2014. Steve Albini, who recorded their debut Tweez, wrote of Spiderland: "When I first heard Brian McMahan whisper the pathetic words to 'Washer', I was embarrassed for him. When I listened to the song again, the content eluded me and I was staggered by the sophistication and subtle beauty of the phrasing. The third time, the story made me sad nearly to tears. Genius."
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Spiderland
The foundational post-rock text: six songs recorded over a single weekend in fall 1990 that pioneered quiet-loud dynamics, narrative structure, and proved rock could be both experimental and emotionally devastating. Brian McMahan overdubbed vocals in two takes maximum using separate microphones for whispers and screams, working from lyrics he'd written sitting alone in his parents' car. The band rejected all effects during mixdown with Brian Paulson, wanting it stark—the sound of four people in a room. Average age of band members was 19. They broke up before it came out in March 1991, printing Britt Walford's parents' address inside and inviting "interested female vocalists" to collaborate. "There was, by that point, I think a fair recognition from all of the guys that, like, 'Wow, this is totally some nerd dude music,'" McMahan told Rolling Stone decades later. The band had played fewer than 30 shows total, never venturing further west than Kansas City. But their "nerd dude music" slowly made its way out into the world through oral tradition—Steve Albini as chief prophet—becoming what David Pajo called "an enduring record" he'd kept waiting to be forgotten. Cover photo by Will Oldham shows the four members swimming in a quarry, only their heads visible above water.
Tweez
Steve Albini-recorded debut featuring dissonant, bass-driven sound with tracks named for band members' parents ("Ron," "Charlotte," "Darlene"), hinting at the genius fully realized on Spiderland. Recorded in 1987 with Britt Walford requesting the bass drum sound "like a ham being slapped by a catcher's mitt." Albini, never one to dismiss odd ideas, tried to make it happen. Then Walford spilled tea on Albini's mixing board. Despite these mishaps, Albini captured something essential—raw, confrontational, refusing polish. "Darlene" came from the Maurice sessions when David Pajo showed up with riffs the singer didn't know what to do with. "I guess they just wanted to rock, you know, like more so, and we were just getting into weirder stuff," Pajo explained. Years later, when Spiderland came out, Albini recognized what he'd witnessed: "When I first heard Brian McMahan whisper the pathetic words to 'Washer', I was embarrassed for him. When I listened to the song again, the content eluded me and I was staggered by the sophistication and subtle beauty of the phrasing. The third time, the story made me sad nearly to tears. Genius."