Sunday 4 March 2012

Slovenly - Riposte (1987)



I never heard Slovenly back in the '80s when they were a performing band. Though I was into lots of the SST groups, Slovenly just seemed to pass me by. Having said that, I don't think I would have liked this if I'd heard it back in 1987 - not punk enough or something. Anyway, I picked this up for a pound at a boot fair recently and I think it's worth sharing - kind of spidery, angsty art-rock with flashes of Beefheart inspired slide guitar action that some of you may appreciate.

Here's a lovely fan video for the album's last track (which isn't overly representative of the sound of the rest of the LP, but hey ho):


Tracklist:

01 The Way Untruths Are
02 Old / New
03 On The Surface
04 Prejudice
05 Emma
06 Enormous Critics
07 Myer's Dark
08 Not Mobile
09 As If It Always Happens
10 A Little Resolve

Get it HERE.

10 comments:

tim abdellah said...

This is fantastic! I caught an early '90s reunion show of theirs in SF. Great stuff - thanks!

Mr Tear said...

Hi Tim,
Yep, this is a great album, I bet they were fab live. Still think its funny that I missed this lot at the time - I use to listen to loads of the SST bands, even people like Das Damen and Sylvia Juncosa. The Minutemen will always rock my world though. Hope you're all well over in Oakland. I'm just checking out zizmp3 - thanks for the heads up. And also I'm off to Morocco again on thursday - any particular sounds I should be looking out for?

d.ross said...

Mostly what I remember of them live is that the singer would smoke cigarettes in 2-3 drags. Great desperate lung-fulls. Very impressive. He also sat in a corner reading James Thurber before the show.

d.ross said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mahoney said...

Thanks for posting my vide of A Little Resolve. I've set up a Facebook page devoted to Slovenly. The goal is to get their catalogue back in print. A video I did for their great song, Orange Crush, can be seen at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-AjVz4EGHs&list=UUaaJXZP7GxuBM5WA5s_a_8Q&index=4&feature=plcp

JamStickity said...

Kudos for an excellent site. You referenced the slide guitar sound of Beefheart...you know that it is Ry Cooder playing that slide guitar, right? You prob do, I just like to preach the Cooder gospel.

Anonymous said...

any chance of reupping this? i couldn't seem to download from Minus

Lucy said...

I Agree! Love this blog. Any chance of re-uploading Riposte? I'd love to hear it!

Mr Tear said...

Hi y'all!
The link should work now. let me know if you have problems (I mean with downloading - not general ones. I'm not an agony uncle)
X

glenn smith said...

what a great underrated band. saw them a few times back in the day, and loved their first few LP's. played the hell out of their LP Thinking of Empire. and it's true that the video is of a song that is not representative of their sound at all. still nice to see. here's a more represetative video, highlighting the awesome guitar / bass interplay and one-of-a-kind melodies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvZ50kX_5t8