With Slippy When Wet, Pittsburgh’s S.L.I.P. go after that rarest of white whales: the all-killer, no filler 33RPM 12” hardcore record. If you’d only heard their earlier stuff, I could see worrying that the lurching, deep-in-the-pocket, Black Flag/Bl’ast!-style rhythms that are at the core of the band’s sound might wear on the ear after a while (god knows some of those later ‘Flag records can be tough to get through in one sitting), but Slippy When Wet reveals that, much like the Adolescents or the Zero Boys, S.L.I.P. are pretty much just writing great pop songs and delivering them with the energy and power of hardcore punk. In addition to being jam-packed with memorable tunes, the playing here is just phenomenal… the “members-of” list for this band is both long and deep, and the experience shows whether they're playing full-tilt hardcore punk like “Not Your Prey” or a Judas Priest-style riff-rock sing-along like “Fast Living.” S.L.I.P. have that Annihilation Time-esque way of using their phenomenal technical proficiency in the service of making music that is fun and energetic rather than dense and pretentious, and like those great A.T. releases, Slippy When Wet is a record that won’t leave your turntable for a very long time.