Slint

Slint are an American post-hardcore band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. Their line-up includes Brian McMahan on guitar and vocals, David Pajo on guitar, Britt Walford on drums, Todd Brashear on bass for Spiderland, and Ethan Buckler on bass for Tweez. The group is active from 1986 to 1992 and is widely associated with math rock and post-rock as well as post-hardcore.

Early recordings and albums

The band’s first album, Tweez, is recorded by Steve Albini in 1987 and released in 1989 on Jennifer Hartman Records, where it appears with little attention. It is later reissued by Touch & Go in 1993. A brief untitled two-song EP is recorded in 1989 and originally planned as a 12-inch single for Jennifer Hartman Records, but it remains shelved when the band signs to Touch & Go.

Spiderland follows two years later on Touch & Go and becomes the group’s best-known release. It is regarded as a seminal album, with dark, syncopated rhythms, sparse guitar parts and spoken-style vocals. Its influence is often linked to a later shift in underground rock away from hardcore’s direct aggression while retaining its ethic. The cover uses photographs of the band taken by Louisville musician Will Oldham. The closing track, “Good Morning, Captain”, becomes their best-known song and later appears on the soundtrack to Kids, although not in the film itself.

After the original run

Although the band disbands around 1991, its members continue in other projects. David Pajo performs as Papa M and also plays bass in Early Man, and he has also been part of Tortoise, Palace and Zwan. Brian McMahan forms The For Carnation in 1994 and also plays with Palace. Britt Walford drums in Evergreen and plays with The Breeders under the names Shannon Doughton and Mike Hunt. Ethan Buckler plays in King Kong, whose original line-up is the original Slint line-up, and appears on the 1989 7-inch “Movie Star”.

Later reunions and performances

Three members — Brian McMahan, David Pajo and Britt Walford — reunite in 2005 to curate the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Camber Sands, England, and Slint also plays a number of shows in the US and Europe that year. The band returns again in 2007 to perform Spiderland in full in Barcelona for Primavera Sound and in London for the ATP Don’t Look Back series, alongside dates in Europe, the US and Canada. They reunite again in December 2013 to headline the final All Tomorrow’s Parties holiday camp festival in Camber Sands, and in 2014 they also perform at Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal and at Green Man Festival in Wales before disbanding again.