Talk about pressure! In the realm of post-punk, the arrival of the first new Slits album in 28 years is roughly akin to a surprise return to publishing from J.D. Salinger. Led by the charismatic Ari Up, the Slits were deeply rooted in the first-generation U.K. punk scene (a couple of members had been involved in semi-mythical rehearsal-only collective Flowers of Romance alongside early Clash guitarist Keith Levene and a pre-Sex Pistols Sid Vicious), and became pioneers not only of post-punk itself, but of femme-punk and the use of reggae and dub in a post-punk context. The Slits' 1979 debut, Cut, inspired legions of jagged, rebellious, female-fronted bands for decades to come, and 30 years later, the long-inactive pioneers finally got around to releasing an official third album. Up and bassist Tessa Pollitt are still on hand for Trapped Animal, along with a batch of relatively new (the re-formed band had been playing live in one form or another for the last few years) recruits, including Sex Pistols' drummer Paul Cook's daughter, Hollie Cook, on keyboards. When you recall that Up herself is John Lydon's stepdaughter, those aforementioned punk roots come into even sharper focus.

1		Ask Ma
2		Lazy Slam
3		Pay Rent
4		Reject
5		Trapped Animal
6		Issues
7		Peer Pressure
8		Partner from Hell
9		Babylon
10		Cry Baby
11		Reggae Gypsy
12		Be It
13		Can't Relate
14		Had a Day
15		[Untitled]

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