''Slo-Blo'' (also stylized as ''Slo*Blo'') is the debut album by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...

. It was released in 1993 by

DGC Records DGC Records (an initialism for the David Geffen Company) was an American record label that operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is owned by the Universal Music Group. History DGC Records was launched in 1990 as a subsi ...

; the band had been signed by

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Mo ...

. The album was first issued by City Slang, in 1992.

Production

The album was produced by

John Siket John Siket is a music producer, recording engineer, and mixer. He is best known for his work with Sonic Youth, Phish, Yo La Tengo, Dave Matthews Band, Blonde Redhead, Fountains of Wayne Fountains of Wayne was an American rock band that ...

and Cell. It had been recorded as a demo. Cell used DGC's money to remix the album for its American release.

Critical reception

'' Spin'' called the album "a leaden fumble, as close to formula as indie rock gets." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' praised the "dynamic six-string melodic grunge, where magisterial riffs and probing guitar jams share equal time." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' 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." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' thought that "at its most tuneful, on such songs as 'Tundra', ''Slo+Blo'' recalled the plaintive, folkish punk of Husker Du." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' 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." '' Newsday'' concluded that "on songs such as 'Cross the River' and 'Stratosphere', Cell's instrumentation gets very close to standard rock anthems." ''

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the '' Indiana ...

'' wrote that "raging guitars here offer a satisfying jolt but

here's Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

little melodic diversity." The '' Calgary Herald'' called the album "hard, methodical, noisy."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

admired the "fluid, meandering riffs that slowly build and overlap and begin to take shape as something powerful, hypnotic, and cohesive."

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 1993 debut albums DGC Records albums