The Slits
Revenge of the Killer Slits
S.A.F.
It’s a rare thing when a group can have fleeting brilliance with one album early in their career, disappear for decades and resurface with a sound still vital in the modern soundscape. Such is the case with The Slits; their album Cut is one of the earliest definitions of riot grrl music. It also helped usher in the blend of punk and dub/reggae to the post-punk culture. With this 3-song EP, the modern day incarnation of the band has opened the gates for an onslaught of contemporary hip hop and electronica to support their polemics. On the opener “Slits Tradition” a hard break-beat matches aggression with an ominous, glowering bass sound. It’s the sound of the aftermath of a revolution. “Number One Enemy” is total British trad-punk and could have come straight from Never Mind the Bollocks if there had been a swapping of genders in The Pistols. The chorus sentiment is true ‘77 nihilism: “I’m gonna be your number one enemy/ oh, for the hell of it.” The dub manifests again on “Kill Them With Love” which starts out ethereal, with a veritable incandescence before charging the dance floor for the Ari Up’s high-speed M.I.A.-esque invocations for destruction.
The future of The Slits is still up in the air, but if these three songs are any indication of what they’re capable of producing, they could experience a renaissance with every reinvention at their disposal.
S.A.F. Records: http://www.safrecords.com
