Slo-Blo (also stylized as Slo*Blo) is the debut album by the American band Cell.[1][2] It was released in 1993 by DGC Records; the band had been signed by Thurston Moore.[3][4] The album was first issued by City Slang, in 1992. The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
| Slo-Blo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992, Germany 1993, United States | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Label | City Slang (Germany) Ecstatic Peace!/DGC | |||
| Producer | John Siket, Cell | |||
| Cell chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
editThe album was produced by John Siket and Cell.[6] It had been recorded as a demo.[7] The band concentrated on composing songs, rather than building on riffs.[8] Cell used DGC's money to remix the album for its American release.[9]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Calgary Herald | A−[11] |
| Chicago Tribune | [12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C−[13] |
| The Indianapolis Star |  [14] |
Spin called the album "a leaden fumble, as close to formula as indie rock gets."[15] The Chicago Tribune praised the "dynamic six-string melodic grunge, where magisterial riffs and probing guitar jams share equal time."[12] Trouser Press opined that, "if commercial post-punk noise were to get more formulaic than this, it’d have to be stacked in the generic-brand aisle."[16] The Washington Post thought that, "at its most tuneful, on such songs as 'Tundra', Slo+Blo recalled the plaintive, folkish punk of Husker Du."[17]
Entertainment Weekly noted the "muffled drumming, proudly tuneless singing, sprawling arrangements that sound as if they’re about to crumble," writing that "the band forgot to write good songs, making Slo-Blo much noisy ado about nothing."[13] Newsday concluded that, "on songs such as 'Cross the River' and 'Stratosphere', Cell's instrumentation gets very close to standard rock anthems."[7] The Indianapolis Star wrote that "raging guitars here offer a satisfying jolt but [there's] little melodic diversity."[14] The Calgary Herald called the album "hard, methodical, noisy."[11]
AllMusic admired the "fluid, meandering riffs that slowly build and overlap and begin to take shape as something powerful, hypnotic, and cohesive."[10]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fall" | 3:35 |
| 2. | "Wild" | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Cross the River" | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Dig Deep" | 3:27 |
| 5. | "Stratosphere" | 5:36 |
| 6. | "Two" | 2:59 |
| 7. | "Everything Turns" | 4:10 |
| 8. | "Tundra" | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Bad Day" | 2:24 |
| 10. | "Hills" | 4:09 |
References
edit- ^ "Cell Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ Christensen, Thor (11 Mar 1993). "Unicorn Cell-ebration". The Milwaukee Journal. p. D2.
- ^ "Blame Nirvana: The 40 Weirdest Post-'Nevermind' Major-Label Albums -". Spin. January 8, 2013. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- ^ Robins, Wayne (30 Oct 1992). "Another Fall, Another CMJ Marathon". Weekend. Newsday. p. 82.
- ^ Lepage, Mark (20 Mar 1993). "Cell Slo*Blo". The Gazette. p. E2.
- ^ "Album reviews — Slo Blo by Cell". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 4. Jan 23, 1993. p. 62.
- ^ a b Fletcher, Tony (17 Jan 1993). "Noise for the New Year". Fanfare. Newsday. p. 21.
- ^ Armstrong, John (9 Mar 1993). "Cell offers the loudest noise you can hum along to". Vancouver Sun. p. C5.
- ^ Punter, Jennie (18 Mar 1993). "Cell-mates dispute sell-out stories". Toronto Star. p. C9.
- ^ a b "Slo*Blo". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ a b Bell, Mike (24 Jan 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C5.
- ^ a b McCormick, Moira. "Slo-Blo". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ a b "Slo-Blo". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
- ^ a b Bacon, Scott (15 Feb 1993). "Cell 'Slo Blo', DGC Records". The Indianapolis Star. p. D4.
- ^ Greer, Jim (Mar 1993). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 8, no. 12. p. 76.
- ^ "Cell". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (13 Apr 1994). "Cell: 'Living Room'". The Washington Post. p. D7.