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
Released1992, Germany
1993, United States
GenreAlternative rock
LabelCity Slang (Germany)
Ecstatic Peace!/DGC
ProducerJohn Siket, Cell
Cell chronology
Slo-Blo
(1992)
Living Room
(1994)

Production

edit

The 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
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [10]
Calgary HeraldA−[11]
Chicago Tribune    [12]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[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.TitleLength
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
  1. ^ "Cell Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  2. ^ Christensen, Thor (11 Mar 1993). "Unicorn Cell-ebration". The Milwaukee Journal. p. D2.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Robins, Wayne (30 Oct 1992). "Another Fall, Another CMJ Marathon". Weekend. Newsday. p. 82.
  5. ^ Lepage, Mark (20 Mar 1993). "Cell Slo*Blo". The Gazette. p. E2.
  6. ^ "Album reviews — Slo Blo by Cell". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 4. Jan 23, 1993. p. 62.
  7. ^ a b Fletcher, Tony (17 Jan 1993). "Noise for the New Year". Fanfare. Newsday. p. 21.
  8. ^ Armstrong, John (9 Mar 1993). "Cell offers the loudest noise you can hum along to". Vancouver Sun. p. C5.
  9. ^ Punter, Jennie (18 Mar 1993). "Cell-mates dispute sell-out stories". Toronto Star. p. C9.
  10. ^ a b "Slo*Blo". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  11. ^ a b Bell, Mike (24 Jan 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C5.
  12. ^ a b McCormick, Moira. "Slo-Blo". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  13. ^ a b "Slo-Blo". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  14. ^ a b Bacon, Scott (15 Feb 1993). "Cell 'Slo Blo', DGC Records". The Indianapolis Star. p. D4.
  15. ^ Greer, Jim (Mar 1993). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 8, no. 12. p. 76.
  16. ^ "Cell". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  17. ^ Jenkins, Mark (13 Apr 1994). "Cell: 'Living Room'". The Washington Post. p. D7.