“Language” is a fluid system, an endless dance of associations between signifier and signified. We shouldn’t bother to ask what words “mean,” but instead what they “do.” With this in mind, I trust when I say that Slint have “reformed” for the third time, you’ll catch my meaning like so many tuna in the nets of your mind. You’ll understand as well what I mean when I say my wife and I briefly “divorced” this morning when I could not see her in the kitchen from my spot in the living room. Our marriage, of course, has now happily “reformed,” as she is currently seated on the couch next to me enjoying a delightful crème fraîche.
This is the third time that Slint have “reformed” since 2005 (and the 35th time my wife and I have divorced since early July). In that year, they played a series of dates and curated an All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival. In 2007, they “reformed” yet again, performing their seminal album Spiderland in full as part of ATP’s Don’t Look Back series. Their current “reformation” comes as part of the announcement that the group will be performing at ATP’s End of an Era from November 29 through December 1. This End of an Era event, which is part two of two, is curated by Loop and ATP and features other acts such as Mogwai, The Pop Group, and Fennesz. It is also the last of its kind for ATP, as they announced earlier this year that they would be discontinuing their holiday festivals.
As language has not yet developed the tools with which we might describe things that do not yet “exist,” I can only say that there is still very little news about an LP of new Slint material. There have, however, been “hints” floated into the ether of just such an object since at least 2007. As long as the band keeps on “reforming” every few years, though, I’m sure something will get done eventually.
• Slint: http://www.touchandgorecords.com/bands/band.php?id=70
• All Tomorrow’s Parties: http://www.atpfestival.com
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