Posts from — June 2005

sleater-kinney’s the woods is easily the best album of the year, a work of great skill and utmost confidence. if things were fair and right in the world, nobody’d be talking about coldplay or the white stripes or any other band for the next two months, it would be all s-k all the time (though if you simply must discuss coldplay, please start by reading this spot-on piece here.

as for sleater-kinney, the new album, while undeniably and recognizably a s-k record (there’s no mistaking carrie’s guitar, corin’s wail and janet’s-oh, janet-drums), is like nothing that has come before. the band’s heart has always been on its sleeve, but now they’re holding it up in the air, bloody and dripping, for all the world to see. i read somewhere earlier that s-k had abandoned their “punk/pop” roots on the new record, but that’s just bullshit– they’ve never been a pop band, and they’re only punk in that diy olympia backwater way…okay, so they were punk, sort of. but they’ve always put out straightforward, often politically-minded rock records, full of anthems, heartbreak, and protest. and they’ve been the biggest rock band in the world at least since 2000’s all hands on the bad one; it’s just that they never really stepped up to the plate and accepted the mantle of rock godhood until the woods. it’s like the band wasn’t really ready to reach for the goblet of rock that was always theirs for the taking until now.
but if i was to introduce sleater-kinney to someone who had no idea who they were (which, unfortunately, is all too possible), i would hand them a copy of the new record first, no question about it (there will be time for the back catalogue later). from the opening screech of distortion and janet’s crashing drumwork, there’s no hesitation, just straight go-for-the-throat rock. which is not to say there’s not a variety and experimentation along the way: carrie’s near-mournful and minimally-accompanied turn on “modern girl” is a perfect example of the depth and control the band has. *special note to all the folks lurking around on message boards saying they’re just not that into all the distortion– fuck off, the whole point is that it’s not supposed to be comforting, it’s supposed to rile you up.*
and while there’s not a bad track in the mix (no, not even the extended 11-minute jam of “let’s call it love,” which is akin to looking straight into the depths of the band’s soul– and is fucking awe-inspiring live), they’ve managed to create a perfect triptych of songs right in the middle, the best three songs in a row i’ve heard in… well, possibly ever. starting with “jumpers,” moving on to “modern girl,” and then blasting through “entertain”: if this were the entire album, you’d hardly have a reason to complain. the beauty of sleater-kinney’s music though, are the less-accessible gems strewn throughout their history, and the woods is no exception. “what’s mine is yours,” with it’s hendrixian feedback and guitar break in the middle of it’s outcast anthem, “rollercoaster,” the record of a tumultuous relationship– these are songs that open themselves the more they’re listened to.
the overwhelming theme of this record is one of discontent and alienation, which can be heard in the lyrics of nearly all the songs: “lonely as a crowd”, “all our little wishes have gone dry” “i’ve wasted my time/i’ve wasted all my fucking time”, “don’t push me/I am not OK”– but the strength of the sound and vision(“don’t drag me down/I’m not falling down”, “But who’s to say I don’t have wings?”) demonstrates that the band has truly found itself in that discontent and is pushing back against the possibility of despair found in simply giving in to the status quo (comparisons to the current state of the nation are likely very welcome).
as a final thought, let me just say that since its release in 1993, liz phair’s exile in guyville has been the album i’ve made people listen to, bought for people more times than i know, and constantly referred people to when asked. and that place now belongs to sleater-kinney’s the woods. don’t be surprised if this is in your stocking the next time xmas rolls around.