The improbable resurgence of Louisville cult faves Slint has yielded blessings galore: gigs all over Europe and the U.S., a schmancy reissue of 1991’s scene-defining Spiderland and an engrossing tell-all documentary, Breadcrumb Trail. Now that renaissance is paying further dividends. Slint drummer Britt Walford, whose relaxed yet punchy style helped give Spiderland its ghostly intensity, has reemerged in Watter, his first new band in two decades.
Walford and two fellow Louisvillers, Zak Riles (of Grails) and Tyler Trotter, recently debuted with the all-instrumental trance inducer This World. While Slint’s shadow naturally lurks, the album’s thick, sweeping psych-meets–post-rock owes more of a debt to Grails, as well as to Watter’s current tourmates, OM. While Walford captains with motorik grooves, metronomic force and experimental flourishes, it’s Riles and Trotter’s Eastern-flavored multi-instrumental prowess that sends This World’s six cathartic trips hurtling into deep space. Pedigree is important here, but even for Slint and Grails fans, Watter’s first NYC show ought to be a whole new trip.—Brad Cohan