Releasing the beasts of yesteryear
Back from the ashes like a phoenix, The Slits have come together again, with minor changes, and released their first all new album since their reformation four years ago, Trapped Animal. The memories of punk days of old live on in the rasta-punk style voice of frontwoman Ari Up. Screeching like a banshee in the night, she lifts you up from your seat with her voice and tosses you into the past where filthy punks ruled the world.
The album starts off a bit poppy with a subtle hint of reggae, and possibly a bit of feminism in the song “Ask Ma,” which is not a bad thing unless you believe in post-feminism. The most unique aspect of this song is the flute solo giving you an odd feeling you can’t describe, but know you want to last forever. The song “Pay Rent” has a fast paced, almost electric feel to it, like something you’d hear at an underground club in Germany or Amsterdam. Lyrically, however, it is a gem to be treasured by little punk hearts, expressing an anti-establishment and DIY attitude. Behind the beats and heavy reggae undertones, the lyrics hold a deeper, sometimes darker meaning. Though it looks as if they are on the warpath with this album, it might just be that they are upset at the world, shedding light on several important issues or that they are simply trying to get political like Green Day. A small setback for an amazing band from an era of punk not completely forgotten.
The Slits have created just that: slits in space and time allowing the people of today to glance back at what punk was, is, and could be. A plethora of songs behind them, there is only room for the best in a world dominated by the minions of the establishment, and in Trapped Animal, The Slits prove they still have what it takes. Let’s hear it for these veterans of punk and hope for less of the same and more of the variety that allows these ladies to rise once more.
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