If there's one thing that Corin Tuckey and Carrie Brownstein the remaining pillars of Sleater- Kinney are, it's survivors. For that alone they deserve respect.
Not everybody cares for what they do and have done for the best part of thirty or more years now. What they do best is The Shriek! The female equivalent of Munch's Scream. Riot Girl lives on through them more than any other band and thrillingly they stick to their Riot Girl apprenticeship and script. They should be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame immediately, If that august institution has the remotest understanding or appreciation for actual Rock & Roll and particularly Punk Rock instead of the vaguest actual dread of it..
New album Little Rope stands tall and proud. If you didn't like Sleater Kinney previously this is unlikely to be the record to convert you to the cause. They're pretty consistent frankly.They stick to the script they formulated way back when. It's always been one that does the job.
When Bill Berry finally had his fill and vacated the drumstool of R.E.M. the band responded that 'a three legged dog was still a dog'. Fans soon discovered that it might still be a odg, but it was clearly 'a dog of a different colour' and in no way as the dog they'd loved so much forcoming up to twenty years. Sleater Kinney devotees have been coping with a similar scenario for a few years now since the departure of Janet Weiss from the SK fold which she'd been a part of since 1996.
Weiss departed after reported 'musical differences.' What they might involve in detail is open to speculation for those who care. If SK seem slightly less SK than they once were for those who care about the ideal of 'the band'. everything here is consistent with the principles that they have always aligned themselves to.
For those who dislike their shrill and slightly discordant quality, that it must be said is exctly what they aspire to. It's what they consciously set out to achieve every time they set foot in a studio. To find fault with that seems akin to having a pop at Cindy Wilson an Kate Pierson for not always singing in tune. Another excellent Sleater Kinney record for those that like that kind of thing. I certainly count myself among that number.
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