Sleater-Kinney were made up,
at last count, of Corin Tucker on vocals and guitar, Carrie Brownstein also on
vocals and guitar and Janet Weiss on drums. That had been the line-up since
their third album, Dig Me Out, which
was their first release on Kill Rock Stars. Previous albums on Chainsaw Records
saw drum duties carried out by Lora Macfarlane. These early albums, the
self-titled Sleater-Kinney (1995) and
Call the Doctor (1996), are
indicative of the band’s roots in the punk influenced Riot Grrrl scene that was
dominating the Pacific Northwest when they first formed. Members of the band
had played in other Riot Grrrl and queercore groups such as Heavens to Betsy
and Excuse 17. It was through playing gigs together in these bands that Corin
and Carrie met and began collaborating together on Sleater-Kinney before
eventually making it their full-time project. Janet Weiss joined the band in
1996 after seeing them at a gig and talking with them backstage. Corin and
Carrie played Janet the song that would be the title track of their next album
and Janet allegedly made a beat “so solid you could practically bang your head
against it.”
Thus began the steady ascent
of Sleater-Kinney’s star in the world of American indie-rock. Recorded in two
months and released on Kill Rock Stars, Dig
Me Out is frequently cited as the band’s second best album but it’s my
favourite of theirs. While there are noticeably better production values than
their first two albums, the band lost none of the high punk energy while still
managing to sound tighter and more polished than anything they’d previously put
out. There were hooks, there were power chords, there were hand-claps on the
chorus and there were just some really, really great songs that would become
fan favourites. Stand out tracks include Words
and Guitar (which is something like their mission statement for this
album), Turn it On, It’s Enough, Not What You Want and Jenny.
Those last two are tied for my favourite from this album. Yet Dig Me Out is more than the sum of its
parts. It marks the start of a very audible evolution for the band that would
see their sound change to reflect both themselves as well as the world around
them without ever sounding like anyone else.
Two years later they released
The Hot Rock, an often over-looked
gem in their back catalogue due to its more subtle and abstract sound that differs from the immediacy and energy they had previously been known for. Influenced by Aussie
band The Go-Betweens, who Carrie Brownstein had been listening to heavily when
the album was being written, The Hot Rock
showcases the band’s ability to rein in their wilder side and showcase the
strength of both Carrie and Corin as singers and songwriters. It also spawned
the band’s first music video for the track Get
Up which was directed by indie darling Miranda July.
I think it’s my favourite
Sleater-Kinney song but trying to decide that for definite is like asking a
parent to choose their favourite child. It’s one I always come back to because
it manages to be powerful whilst maintaining the sparser, more abstract feel of
the album as a whole, and yet at the same time it imparts an important message. This song got me
through some rough times and it is my faithful stand-by when I’m feeling down.
Like the voice of David Bowie, it always lifts my spirits.
Where The Hot Rock went for introspection their next album, All Hands on the Bad One served as a
reaction to some of the backlash they faced from fans who felt they’d abandoned
their punk rock Riot Grrrl roots by ‘mellowing out’. With lyrics that directly
reference the male dominated scene they performed in and criticised the mainstream
media’s portrayal of Riot Grrrl and third-wave feminism, the band could not be
said to be backing down from tackling socio-political issues stemming from the
scene they came from. Where some fans find The
Hot Rock the harder pill to swallow, for me it’s this album. There are
times I can listen to it from start to finish and think it’s wonderful, but
then I’ll go off it for a while and won’t come back to it for a long time.
Don’t let this put you off though, there are some brilliant standalone tracks
here including the title track as well as #1
Must Have, Was it a Lie? and my
personal favourite Ironclad.
One Beat,
their penultimate 2002 album, is great. Again, ranking these albums is like
ranking children and my favourite changes so much but this is probably my
second or third favourite Sleater-Kinney album. More politically minded than
even its predecessor, the songs were written and recorded in the aftermath of
the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US, and several of the tracks are
reactions to the fallout from this as well as more personal events in the lives
of Corin, Carrie and Janet. Yet for the seriousness of the subject matter it’s
defiantly uplifting. Oh is a jubilant
song about the first flushes of love and Light
Rail Coyote is a surprising ode to a coyote in Portland who took a trip on
the city’s electric tram network. Step
Aside features a horn section and is Corin’s own tribute to her new
maternal responsibilities following the birth of her first child. I also find
this album to be one where Corin’s vocals really shine. They have always stood
out and you’ll understand when you hear them, but there’s finesse to them now,
and she’s able to let go without going overboard.
We turn, then, to the band’s
last album. Released on Sub Pop in 2005, The
Woods is definitely a sonic pinnacle. It constantly jostles with Dig Me Out for primacy in my ever-changing
rankings of Sleater-Kinney albums. If you listen to their albums from first to
last, you really do wonder where they could have gone next. The tragedy is we
may never find out. Despite constant hints and whispers (teasing, I call it) of
reunions and potential new albums there doesn’t appear to be anything on the
horizon. Could they top it? From the wail and fuzz and call and response lyrics
of The Fox to the duelling guitars of
What’s Mine is Yours and the
psych-rock breakdowns of Let’s Call it
Love draped around the fierce howl of a manifesto that is Entertain to the acoustic guitar and
harmonica album oddball Modern Girl,
could they? Could Corin’s vocals exceed the ecstasy they evoke on Let’s Call it Love? Could Janet’s
drumming ever thunder as much as it does here? Could Carrie’s guitar and own
vocal snarls ever sound as loud, loose and venomous?
From start to finish
Sleater-Kinney seldom sound like the same band twice. On each release since Dig Me Out their sound evolves and they
manage to wear their musical influences on their sleeves without compromising
their own sound. Corin and Carrie’s distinct guitar playing styles and vocals
mean you could never confuse them on record and since the Kill Rock Stars years
they have been matched in volume and ferocity by the rock that is Janet Weiss.
Nowadays Corin works her musical projects around her family and favours a more
bluesy sound, whereas Carrie is becoming something of an indie-celeb through
her writing and starring in cult-favourite series Portlandia. She also plays in Wild Flag with Janet and keeps
dropping breadcrumbs regarding the long wished-for return of Sleater-Kinney.
Yet with the members in different places in their lives and careers, could they
still entertain like they used to? They’re my favourite band and even I’m not
sure. No, actually, I’m certain they’d be absolutely brilliant. I am, however,
horribly biased.
The current Lesley Dickson Sleater-Kinney album rankings:
1.
The Woods (I
changed my mind while writing this article)
2.
Dig Me Out
3.
The Hot Rock
4.
One Beat
5.
All Hands on the Bad One
6.
Call the Doctor
7.
Sleater-Kinney
LD
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