So much has been written about Spiderland, that it seems redundant to bother at all in 2016.
The significance of that album cannot be disputed.. But their debut album Tweez often never gets a look in.. Why is that?
Is it because it's an inferior album to Spiderland? Most people believe this to be the case. But some people believe it's because it lives in the shadow of Spiderland. After all everything is subjective, and ones opinion about it doesn't make it definitive.
Tweez was produced by the infamous Steve Albini. His production style is all over this, and is in stark contrast to the understated dynamism of Spiderland. It's sound is acerbic, loud and glorious.
It seems a misfortune that I have heard this album after Spiderland. But I can feel that it is something good, something transcendent mystical even. The guitars on this thing are loud in your face, and jump out of the mix, much like it's respective rhythm section. Sounds are often clashing with one another, it's brutal and ugly, but beautiful at the same time.
Years later Albini was commissioned to produce Nirvana's swan song IN UTERO, you can see a lot of the foundations of that work on Tweez.
From the opening track "Ron", you can feel the tension and volatility in the air, in the guitars. Everything feels rushed like it needs to be captured on tape before the spool catches alight.
The whole theme of Tweez, is to give the listener no time to respond. It's like a disjointed post hardcore band from another dimension. But maybe with No-Wave aspirations. Its burns through tracks. A quick adrenaline rush.
Thats the reason why the albums work so well. The ying and yang. Spiderland was more patient and calculating, it would lure you into a false sense of security, and then BANG you're bombarded with noise and another time change. The shortest song of that thing is just over five minutes in length. We have 3 or 4 around the 2 minute mark on Tweez.
For some reason, the bass is prominent for me. It's not to say it wasn't on Spiderland, but it really stuck out, and may of been a by product of Albini's production, he is know for pronouncing bottom end in his work. Ethan Buckler only appeared on this, he didn't record on Spiderland. I felt more with the rhythm that I had with the other album.
There aren't any narrative style lyrics on this either. If there can be any significance drawn out of the fact that all the song titles were named after the band relatives, it can be seen they probably were stuck for song titles and that made it easier. It doesn't seem to signify anything about the songs themselves. It's a slapdash approach to recording and putting together an album, but it seems to work in a strange way. It's like this was there litmus test, and Spiderland was there apollo mission.
Since their hiatus in the mid nineties, they have occasionally reunited for shows, they are also remastering Spiderland. They often play Spiderland in it's entirety, but songs from Tweez are played too.
I want to spread the word about the debut, I think it's a raw and unique experience, and it would be a shame for it to be obscured by the herculean epic that is Spiderland. Please listen to Tweez.. NOW!!
Callan Cummings
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