Orange Vinyl, National Album Day 2024
Formed in London during the first wave of punk, in 1976, The Slits were all-female firebrands whose influence stretches far beyond music, shaping fashion trends and forcing a wholesale rethink of cultural attitudes towards women in rock. Mixing African rhythms and Jamaican dub into their unique sonic blend, Ari Up (vocals), Viv Albertine (guitar) and Tessa Pollitt (bass) transcended barriers of all kinds – social, political and musical – inspiring generations of female musicians to give the finger to the establishment and follow their own paths. With its DNA traceable in everything from the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s to the music of grunge pioneer Courtney Love, electro-punk agitator Peaches, rapper and activist M.I.A. and returning Arkansas rockers Gossip, The Slits’ seminal debut album, Cut, has lost none of its power. With its densely layered sound providing a backdrop to songs that tackle such unlikely subject matter as shoplifting, consumerism, sexual politics and the commercial exploitation of women, it remains an inspirational album from an era in which women were beginning to take the reins in the creative arts.