Tweez is one of those albums that nobody mentions yet the band that released it is famous for releasing a classic album. Slints sophomore album
Spiderland is considered a classic post-rock album by many critics and they even receive credit for creating a new genre. While I admit that
Spiderland is a much more consistent and well composed then
Tweez that doesn’t mean that this is not an album worth your money. I’ll end this little comparing game right now by simply saying that both albums are completely different from one another and both provide an interesting and somewhat bizarre listen.
Slint created something new when they released
Tweez and you can’t really put it under any genre of music. It blends together punk, indie, math-rock, and even some minor post-rock elements make their way into the music. Slint basically combine scratchy guitars, thumping bass lines, and hard hitting drums. The instruments all sound like they didn’t cost much, about one hundred dollars in total.
Tweez is an extremely raw and gritty album, the noisy, snake like guitar riffs dominate most of the sound while the drumming sounds like it is coming from an old 20 year old drum kit. Like I said before, Slint created something new but I can exact point out what it is. The music is harsh and rough, sometimes the scratchy recording will send chills down your spine. Whatever it is
Tweez is a creepy, gloomy, and strange album.
The most interesting part about Slint is how they refrain from using any particular vocalist yet they manage to incorporate different sound recordings into their music, and often talk to each other while they are playing. Right in the middle of a song they will switch up rhythms and will talk to each other right in the middle of guitar distortion, or slower, gloomier sections. Sometimes they will add in a sound recording while a song is slowing down or building up, they execute this pretty well and make things even more interesting and fun. While
Tweez is considered an instrumental album there are plenty of voice recordings and conversations throughout the album giving it a more eerie feel.
While listening to
Tweez is almost feels like Slint is jamming out right in front of you. This can be either a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for. I can always count on
Tweez when I need something both unique and bizarre to listen to, but sometimes it can be way to loud and noisy. Many times throughout the album Slint gets very sloppy and throw in to many harsh sounding guitars, heavy bass riffs, and unrhythmic drumming. This happens a little to often and while it gives the album a raw edge it can be tough to get into and listen to. I love albums with a lot of guitar distortion, but I think Slint gets a little to experimental and loud for their own good.
Every song title is named after a band members parent, with the exception of the last song which is named after Steve’s dog. It’s kind of odd because I don’t see how each song relates to a parent since there are no real lyrics. Slint kicks things off with
Ron and it is without a doubt a highlight. It’s just under two minutes long, and is a frenzy of guitar fuzz, a conversation dealing with headphones, and a pounding bass line. The thing that makes this song so interesting is how many times things shift and change so quickly. A screeching guitar line will be playing and all of a sudden it comes to a halt and a slap bass comes in. There is a brief guitar solo, and then the song comes to a close. I think this is a great way to kick things off because
Ron is a funky, guitar driven rocker that is quite accessible.
Nan Ding is the slowest track off the album and is a departure from the first song in terms of quality. It’s propelled by a simple guitar line, and you can hear some people talking in the background. Right when you think the song is going to move into a different direction it comes to a quick end, leaving you shocked and confused.
Carol closes out the first half of the album with a bang. It’s the most sluggish and hardcore influenced tune off of
Tweez. Scratchy guitar lines play over pure static, and then a slow, menacing bass riff comes in and this goes on for a while.
Carol is as close to metal as the album gets, and sounds like something that would be playing in a movie after a character gets stabbed.
The mid-section shows a lot of potential but in the end it just makes me yawn constantly.
Kent is the longest song off of
Tweez almost reaching six minutes long. Everything starts off quiet and gentle, but the song slowly builds up. I think it takes a little to long to develop and the droning guitar licks get tiresome. Toward the end of the song there is a groovy guitar/bass funk riff that almost makes you want to get up and dance. This is a cool song, but it drags on for at least a minute longer then it should.
Charlotte comes right after this, and I still don’t really know what to think about it. It’s an extremely sloppy and unorganized song that almost startles you at first. A harsh guitar riff plays over a screaming vocalist, and you can’t even come close to making out the lyrics. After this a little guitar distortion comes in and this is another song that just drags on for way to long and shows us nothing new. After this comes
Darlene and it is the most “snake like” song that Slint has ever recorded. A wiry guitar riff starts things off and a stuttering bass and drum beat play in the background. Someone is speaking words in a quiet tone that once again are very hard to decipher. Clocking in at three minutes
Darlene is both well written and eerie, something that is rarely found on
Tweez.
For those of you who decided to take a brief nap threw the dull mid section you are in for a rude awakening.
Warren will appeal to any fans of punk music, it’s heavy bass playing and quick paced guitar riff are very dark and harsh. The song doesn’t go anywhere but it’s overall heaviness and “punk” influences make it a strong standout track.
Pat borrows influences from blues, and it’s groovy guitar riff indicates that Slint can do something completely random and different. You can hear a person saying “Cheese, or Fetish?” in the background and this is another song that is eerie and cold. Towards the end of the song a deep bass comes in along with a scratchy guitar, while
Pat isn’t anything to call home about it is a decent track. Finally
Tweez closes out with it’s best song,
Rhoda. The main focus is on the fuzzy guitar distortion, but what really makes the song interesting is how loud yet confined the guitar playing is. At first things will seem like a cluttered mess but after a few listened everything starts to come together. The hard hitting drum beats are also highlight towards the end of the song.
To be honest, I enjoy
Tweez but I really wish that Slint had more parents or dogs. The album fails to reach thirty minutes long and there are a few songs that are just to noisy and loud to even sit through. What really makes this such an interesting listen is how creepy and dark the music is yet a lot of times it can sound out of control. Slint really don’t experiment to much throughout the album, there are some melancholy and dreary parts, and other times there are just random blasts of noise.
Tweez is an inconsistent and noisy listen but if you give it enough time you might be puzzled by how forgotten this album really is.
