Evergreen

You can draw lines from Slint to The For Carnation, The Breeders, Palace, Papa M, and Zwan, but the great forgotten post-Slint band was Evergreen, for whom Britt Walford played drums and keyboards. The 2003 reissue of the band's only full-length (first released in 1996) proves itself to be virtually timeless.

Produced by DFA's James Murphy, the eponymous release applies Slint's sensibilities (hear the influence on "Glass Highway") to drunk dance-punk drawn from The Stooges, Television, Fugazi, and in the case of Sean McLoughlin's unhinged vocals, The Rolling Stones. What a great example of an album that should have blown apart the whole world of rock & roll, but instead probably made its mark slowly -- glacially even -- as the original fans of the Kentucky outfit formed bands of their own.

From the simmering Iggy Pop grit of "Fairlane" to the blazing "Solar Song," this record is both reckless and tight, with the theatrics of Nation of Ulysses. To the ear of 2003, Evergreen could be the cross between The Strokes and The White Stripes, and it just goes to show that Louisville, KY, may have been the most important locale to later 20th century independent ock music -- it was at least as important as New York and Seattle. ~ Charles Spano, All Music Guide