The Slits

The Slits were one of the most original bands to come out of the Brit punk scene. Their combination of guitar primitivism, jungle drums and dub reggae was about the weirdest thing happening in 1979. Ari Up's vocals are always totally awesome, but on the cover of "Heard It Through the Grapevine" she really tears it up.

From their album cover (which depicts them fresh from frolicking naked in the mud) to
their stage show (which ends with them inviting the audience up to play their instruments
while they wander off to the bar or dressing room), the Slits are tribal. Vocalist Arri Up,
bassist Tessa and guitarist Viv Albertine (assisted on Cut by male drummer Budgie) were the
first British all-female punk group. They began their career by opening for–and... More >

For once a white reggae style that rivals its models for weirdness and formal imagination. The choppy lyrics and playful, quavering, chantlike vocals are a tribute to reggae's inspired amateurism rather than a facsimile, and the spacey rhythms and recording techniques are exploited to solve the great problem of female rock bands, which is how to make yourself heard over all that noise. Arri Up's answer is to sing around it, which is lucky, because she'd be screeching for sure on top of the usual wall of chords. Some of this is thinner and more halting than it's meant to be, but I sure hope they keep it up. (Grade - B+)