and violence of the album so precisely it shakes souls. The group—submerged in a lake to their chins with deranged smiles—seems to be stalking you, hovering out of the black-and-white façade." Several other promotional images have been taken from the same photo session with Oldham. The photograph on the back cover is of a dead wolf spider, taken by Noel Saltzman, who also took the uncredited cover photo for their untitled 1994 EP. Saltzman found the spider in a shed while working his summer job. As it would not remain still enough to be photographed, Saltzman killed, froze, and repositioned it with tweezers to take the shot. The inside sleeve contains the message "interested female vocalists write 1864 douglas blvd. louisville, ky. 40205". The words "this recording is meant to be listened to on vinyl" is printed on some CD issues, indicating Slint's preference for analog audio devices. Reception The band had broken up by the time Touch and Go were preparing for the album's release. As a result, a planned tour of Europe was canceled and the album received minimal promotion. It thus failed to attract an audience, make an impression on college radio, or chart in either the US or the UK. The album went virtually unnoticed by the American music press or zines. Maximumrocknroll described it as "genius", but only during a passing mention midway through a column on the Kentucky scene. The writer for Flipside was unable to review the album as he had received a damaged copy from the label, and did not ask to have it replaced. McMahan admits that while the band did not seek to engage with journalists, "there wasn't really a huge infrastructure for getting information out on a broad scale. We definitely avoided it." The UK music press were the first to report on the album. Albini, who produced Tweez, wrote a review for Melody Maker published on March 30, 1991. He praised the music's originality and emotional intensity, as well as the clarity and immediacy of Paulson's production. He claimed that Tweez—which he produced—only "hints at their genius" but had little of the "staying power" manifested on Spiderland. He awarded the album "ten fucking stars" and predicted that it would rise in stature, writing "It's an amazing record... and no one still capable of being moved by rock music should miss it. In 10 years it will be a