Legends of the riot grrrl scene, Sleater-Kinney have released their eleventh album with Little Rope. Review of a beautifully wise punk record, marked by a profound grief.
LITTLE ROPE – SLEATER-KINNEY
In the great family of punk female musicians, it’s quite impossible to avoid Sleater-Kinney. The band formed some moons ago has made a comeback ten years ago. Since then, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker have simply never left. This year, Sleater-Kinney are launching Little Rope. The album is a condensing of strong sounds, that I adore, of very produced New Waves inflections, and of very personal stories. If Hell doesn’t seem to go down the punk route, give it time to set the brilliant frame in which chaos will rampage. Saturation jumps on the chorus, and what a treat. Needlessly Wild scratches an itch, just right.
Cleaner, Say It Like You Mean It resonates whilst Hunt You Down swaggers in and takes everything in its wake like Small Finds and its urgency will do later on. Sure, it’s quieter, wiser, than others, but Sleater-Kinney is experience, through grief, Brownstein’s grieving here for her mother, tragic events, and a politically lost world, and it shows here. Calculated yet leaving vivid feelings to express themselves, the studio performance is only a small glimpse of what’s to come with these tracks live.
The band also comes to explore its darker side, scarred by pain and sorrow, with Don’t Feel Right and Six Mistakes, a curiosity and fascination of which the danger is kept in its chaotic riffs. For Crusader, they are getting everybody to dance. Dress Yourself is playing with balance, highlighting sensually the roughness of the vocals’ textures. The final is sparked by Untidy Creature, an absolute hit with deep marked noticeable textures. For me, Little Rope by Sleater-Kinney is already amongst the best records of the year.
