 In a retrospective review for AllMusic , Dean Carlson said that Spiderland is " one of the most essential and chilling releases in the mumbling post @-@ rock arena " . However , he felt that it is " slightly overrated " and that McMahan 's vocals convey " strangled pity instead of outright empathy . " Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic and wrote that , despite their " sad @-@ sack affect " , Slint are actually " art @-@ rockers without the courage of their pretensions " with poor lyrics . In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide , Rolling Stone journalist Mac Randall felt that the album 's music lacks songform , even though it sounds more accessible than Tweez : " [ t ] he absence of anything resembling a tune continues to nag . " 
