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Slo-Blo
Studio album by Cell
Released	1992, Germany 1993, United States
Genre	Alternative rock
Label	City Slang (Germany) Ecstatic Peace!/DGC
Producer	John Siket, Cell
Cell chronology
Slo-Blo (1992) Living Room (1994)

Slo-Blo (also stylized as Slo*Blo) is the debut album by the American band Cell. It was released in 1993 by DGC Records; the band had been signed by Thurston Moore. The album was first issued by City Slang, in 1992. The band supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

The album was produced by John Siket and Cell. It had been recorded as a demo. The band concentrated on composing songs, rather than building on riffs. Cell used DGC's money to remix the album for its American release.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Calgary Herald	A−
Chicago Tribune
Entertainment Weekly	C−
The Indianapolis Star

Spin called the album "a leaden fumble, as close to formula as indie rock gets." The Chicago Tribune praised the "dynamic six-string melodic grunge, where magisterial riffs and probing guitar jams share equal time." Trouser Press opined that, "if commercial post-punk noise were to get more formulaic than this, it’d have to be stacked in the generic-brand aisle." The Washington Post thought that, "at its most tuneful, on such songs as 'Tundra', Slo+Blo recalled the plaintive, folkish punk of Husker Du."

Entertainment Weekly noted the "muffled drumming, proudly tuneless singing, sprawling arrangements that sound as if they’re about to crumble," writing that "the band forgot to write good songs, making Slo-Blo much noisy ado about nothing." Newsday concluded that, "on songs such as 'Cross the River' and 'Stratosphere', Cell's instrumentation gets very close to standard rock anthems." The Indianapolis Star wrote that "raging guitars here offer a satisfying jolt but little melodic diversity." The Calgary Herald called the album "hard, methodical, noisy."

AllMusic admired the "fluid, meandering riffs that slowly build and overlap and begin to take shape as something powerful, hypnotic, and cohesive."

Track listing

References

1. "Cell Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
2. Christensen, Thor (11 Mar 1993). "Unicorn Cell-ebration". The Milwaukee Journal. p. D2.
3. "Blame Nirvana: The 40 Weirdest Post-'Nevermind' Major-Label Albums -". Spin. January 8, 2013. Archived from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
4. Robins, Wayne (30 Oct 1992). "Another Fall, Another CMJ Marathon". Weekend. Newsday. p. 82.
5. Lepage, Mark (20 Mar 1993). "Cell Slo*Blo". The Gazette. p. E2.
6. "Album reviews — Slo Blo by Cell". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 4. Jan 23, 1993. p. 62.
7. ^ Fletcher, Tony (17 Jan 1993). "Noise for the New Year". Fanfare. Newsday. p. 21.
8. Armstrong, John (9 Mar 1993). "Cell offers the loudest noise you can hum along to". Vancouver Sun. p. C5.
9. Punter, Jennie (18 Mar 1993). "Cell-mates dispute sell-out stories". Toronto Star. p. C9.
10. ^ "Slo*Blo". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
11. ^ Bell, Mike (24 Jan 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C5.
12. ^ McCormick, Moira. "Slo-Blo". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2021-10-22. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
13. ^ "Slo-Blo". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
14. ^ Bacon, Scott (15 Feb 1993). "Cell 'Slo Blo', DGC Records". The Indianapolis Star. p. D4.
15. Greer, Jim (Mar 1993). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 8, no. 12. p. 76.
16. "Cell". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
17. Jenkins, Mark (13 Apr 1994). "Cell: 'Living Room'". The Washington Post. p. D7.

• 1993 debut albums
• Cell (American band) albums
• DGC Records albums