Slim chance

A Facebook friend of mine recently used a status update to describe Slim Twig as an easy artist to admire, but a hard one to love. That pretty much captures my feelings towards the artist perfect. On the one hand, I think it's really cool that someone as strange (and, to be brutally honest, tuneless) as Slim can get a record deal and a FACTOR grant. On the other hand, however, my appreciation for his music is limited, to say the least.

This goes double for me now that his debut full-length, Contempt!, is out. I mean, I still think it's cool that someone can put out an album on a relatively major label that's as devoid of tunes as this is...but that doesn't mean I really have any desire to listen to it. Songs like "Phantasm Inquest" and "Japanese Machines" are kind of fun -- in the same way that a creepy horror movie can be called "fun" -- in small doses, but stretching them out over the full course of the album is just torturous. I know there are some people who absolutely love listening to this kind of thing, and I commend them for their ability to do so, but I really can't say that Contempt! does much for my opinion of Slim Twig other than strengthen how I already felt.