Album Review: Sleater-Kinney- No Cities To Love

Sleater-Kinney

No Cities To Love

****and1/2 out of *****

With their highly anticipated comeback No Cities To Love, Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein talked about willing the band back into existence with the creation of this album, quick assesment? Mission Accomplished.

The band has crafted their most mature (makes sense) and accessibly mainstream (semi surprising) album of their career. When they were last cranking out the jams, the band seemed to hit a musical turning point with The Woods, blasting their angst past while funneling it through loud arena rock production; an amazingly successful record all around.

They turn down the angst/fire/noise on No Cities To Love and increase the pop but for a band just getting back into the swing of things after a 10 year split SK are confident, vibrant and just as vital as ever. By putting a softer touch on things a new legion of fans will be able to attach themselves to these songs now that the band might have it's highest profile ever thanks to years of internet pining and Brownstein's star turn on IFC's Portlandia.

As for the songs themselves even though they are produced by John Goodmanson who helped the band on their earlier raw fantastic albums (One Beat, Dig Me Out, All Hands On The Bad One) there is clearly tons more sonic polish this go around. A track like "Gimme Love"  is a nuanced disco rocker that could have wide-range appeal but songs like "Fangless" bring back the two guitar machine which Brownstein and Corin Tucker slip into with ease.

The opener "Price Tag" is classic SK in every way, Tucker lyrically addressing actual economy, spiritual costs, or political acquiescence while the band gets back into their twin guitar groove majestically. For a band that famously doesn't use bass, "A New Wave" gets awfully close to that sound as the dance vibe pops back up. The other member of the trio Janet Weiss takes center stage on "Surface Envy" with her skin pounding, but the song also hints excitingly at noise rock flair with scratchy/digital guitars in the background.  

"No Anthems" states there aren't any, but itself is anthemic as is the first single "Bury Our Friends" which takes a pumping chorus and puts out the positive vibe of not giving in, even in this bizarre new gilded age. These tracks on other albums would be clear highlights, but here they are just part of the amazing tapestry from SK's comeback disk.

The tunes are tight and efforts like the very pop leaning "Hey Darling" are balanced out with closer "Fade" which hints at The Woods mega rock. If there is one complaint it may be the band never cuts loose to those realms, seeming to veer for drum tight with this offering. Hopefully the reunion continues because this doesn't feel like a one off, rather a rebirth and where the band goes next could be even more exciting then No Cities To Love.  
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We dig on Sleater-Kinney hard. So we had high hopes for this disk and for the most part those were completely met. Wouldn't mind a few more solos next time though as Brownstein can cook. 

Support the band here, buy the album here, peep some video below:

Album Review: Sleater Kinney - The Center Won't Hold

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Sleater-Kinney's ninth studio album, The Center Won't Hold.

This was one of the toughest albums for RtBE to review. Had the name on the cover not been Sleater-Kinney, things would have been different, but this is a band who has never disappointed with a release.

While we like some (Dig Me Out, The Woods) more than others (All Hands On The Bad One) no release has been remotely bad....and The Center Won't Hold certainly isn't bad, it is just worldly different from anything they have ever done. In fact going back to listen to All Hands On The Bad One, it sounds much better than I had remembered it, I am not sure that will be the case with this release.

The Center Won't Hold, more than any record we have reviewed in recent years, will need time to either grow in our brain or be washed out and forgotten, only time will tell how we feel about in a few months for our year end review. Until then, judge for yourself.

Support the artists, buy the album, peep some video below:

Full Show Friday: Sleater-Kinney 2015 Washington DC

We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Sleater-Kinney!

This is turning out to be a good month of Full Show Friday's as we have a pro-shot, pro-sound Sleater-Kinney show from 2015 this week on tap. We loved their come back album and rated it high in our best of the year for 2015. While we weren't super pumped on the live album from the tour, this live video is killer. Thanks to NPR for posting it and capturing a great night of music from the classic band.

Full setlist below the video. Enjoy:


SET LIST Price Tag - 0:40 Start Together - 4:36 Fangless - 7:11 Oh! - 10:59 Surface Envy - 14:54 Get Up - 18:02 Ironclad - 21:45 No Anthems - 24:23 Youth Decay - 28:13 What's Mine Is Yours - 30:57 A New Wave - 36:03 No Cities To Love - 39:48 One Beat - 42:46 Words And Guitar - 45:54 Bury Our Friends - 48:34 Sympathy - 52:20 Entertain - 56:21 Jumpers - 1:01:46 ENCORE Gimme Love - 1:07:24 Little Babies - 1:10:04 Turn It On - 1:12:20 Modern Girl - 1:15:02 Dig Me Out - 1:17:50

Sleater-Kinney to Tour Behind New Album in 2015

In some very exciting and unexpected news Sleater-Kinney have recorded a new album and will be touring behind it in early 2015! And seriously, sorry Pretty K, fuck this headline

This news is pure Boosh, we got into SK late in the game, sometime just after the release of One Beat.

After that one we dove into their back catalog with Dig Me Out ending up our favorite:

Then we simply LOVED The Woods ranking it in our list of the best of the decade over on Glide. We have had The Woods and Dig Me Out as well as Corin Tucker's latest on our ipod/phone continually since the group disbanded in 2005. 

So facking cool that they are coming back as we only saw them once waaaaay back in their early days (I want to say 96?) so getting a chance to see them again would be amazing. Sleater-Kinney can get punky, groovy (even without a bassist), noisy, and honestly they have never put out a bad album in their full catalog. Here is hoping that trend will continue as we have liked the individual players albums they have put out during the trio's hiatus.

They have released their first new single which you can hear below and Slate has put together an excellent collection of where to start if you are not familiar with the band. Glide also put out there rankings, and by reading our post here, you already know Glide got it right. Get familiar cause Janet, Carrie and Corin are a fucking killer rock trio, here is the bad ass "Bury Our Friends":

 

Album Review - Corin Tucker Band 1,000 Years

This review is part of the "Over Flow" Review Series. For various reasons these past reviews were not published anywhere else. I am tagging them as "Overflow Reviews" and may add some extra information after if needed but I will keep the ratings and reviews just as I originally wrote them. Enjoy:

The Corin Tucker Band 

1,000 Years

*** out of *****

When Sleater-Kinney called it quits with the bombastic The Woods, rock music suffered a small setback as the group had been consistently innovative and seemingly hitting an artistic and commercial peak.  Carrie Brownstein moved onto blogging and Portlandia, Janet Weiss kept drumming with various bands including Quasi and it was reported that Corin Tucker would be having a second child and settling down for the time being.  1,000 Years marks Corin's return to the world of rock and roll, and while she herself describes it as a "middle-aged mom" album it is still pretty goddamn hip and engaging.

The caterwauling that made her the darling of the Riot Grrrl scene is put away in favor of keyboards and relaxed vibe.  Sara Lund helps out on the drums and multi-instrumentalist Seth Lorinczi help out on the sound and while they are a three piece there is very little effort to try to recreate Tuckers past glories.  In fact only the single "Doubt" (smart marketing ploy?) sounds like Sleater-Kinney tune (and a damn good one) with it's pumping drums, screeching guitars, catchy ass lyrics and familiar high pitched vocal.

The rest of the album is happy to stroll along toying with warbling reverb and distance.  The space and inventive percussion is critical to the ska tinged "Half a World Away" and sparseness enhances a desperado feeling present on "It's Always Summer" which contains violins and what could be a wooden block played 50 feet from the microphone.  "Thrift Store Coats" and "Big Goodbye" increase the energy flow, but it is obvious Tucker is holding back from the mega-peaks, happy to focus on the organs of "Handed Love" and the title track.  The opening song "1,000 Years" says it all for Tucker here, clapping drums under mellow fuzz finds Tucker singing of a changing life full of trials, mystery, and survival.  While it might not be purely biographical lines like, "My own family/didn't know me/anymore" sure make it feel that way, but the positive vibe puts 1,000 Years in perspective as a success.
   
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I love me some Sleater-Kinney and was miffed when they announced they weren't playing anytime soon after their best album The Woods was released.  I am guessing some reunion tour will be drummed up in the near future, but it has been over 5 years and Corin Tucker has no shame in her newest release 1,000 Years.  This is a great, confident, disk from an artist who is comfortable with where she fits in the industry and still has something to add to the musical conversation.

Give it a gander, here are some video's to wet your appetite:
 "1,000 Years"

"Doubt"

"Thrift Store Coats" LIVE like the build on this one-

New Sleater-Kinney Album, Path of Wellness, June 11th First Single Released Today

 A new Sleater-Kinney record is arriving on June 11th and it is titled Path of Wellness.

Here is the announcement from the band:

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A post shared by Sleater-Kinney (@sleater_kinney)

Very interested to see where the self production takes them and if their last record was just a pop dalliance or if they move more in that direction. From this first single it is hard to tell, could go either way, but which ever way it goes RtBE is here for it. 

Album Review- Corin Tucker Band-Kill My Blues

Corin Tucker Band

Kill My Blues

****out of *****

Corin Tucker's second release with her new band finds the energy ramping up for the former Sleater-Kinney rocker.  If her last album 1,000 Words was considered (in her own words) a "Midlife Mommy Album" Kill Your Blues is the sound of an anxious energy filled rocker ready to bust back out onto the scene.

The disk has a rock induced hip swaying uptempo beat from the opening "Groundhog Day" where Corin seems to sadly see things slipping back to the way they were politically and socially, this just also happens to be the time when Tucker made her strongest music and Sleater-Kinney seemed to thrive.  "Groundhog Day" is a blatant and successful callback starting album off vibrantly while "I Don't Wanna Go" seems to address this begrudging return to popish-punkish form best as she sings "Just when I got it together/fell for a nice guy/started a family/just when I turned the page".  All of this plays out over slashing guitars, popping bass and feedback laced tempo changes.

The title track and "Neskowin" keep things cruising as the former plays with keys and electric blues vamps while the latter goes with tight snares as Tucker returns to her riot grrl's roots via the lyrics.  "Blood Bones & Sand" has a death march feel with pianos while "Outgoing Message" is a quirky snapshot sendoff and "Tiptoe" is massively rocking album closer .   
    
All of the songs here are peculating vitality, "Summer Jam" cooks while "Constance" seems to play around with a "Smells Like Teen Spirit" structure while incorporating gorgeous organs and keyboards creating a unique and intoxicating final sound.  Tucker has mentioned this is a group effort as Seth Lorinczi (Golden Bears), Sara Lund (Unwound) and Mike Clark (Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks) are all comfortable enough having played together that these tracks just flowed out.

If you were a fan of Tuckers past work and a bit let down by the mellowness of her first solo effort, hop back into the riot grrrl's world as Kill My Blues is an vibrant explosion of sonic excitement from Tucker and company.  
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We have been long time fans of Tucker and while we didn't hate 1,000 Words, we have rarely went back and listened to it since reviewing it.  Kill My Blues on the other hand is a complete success and will go into heavy rotation this fall I am sure.  We will be catching the band when they play NYC in a few weeks, and you can stream the album for yourself right now over at Stereo Gum!   

As always support the artist, catch them live in your area and buy the album here. 
"Groundhog Day"

Album Review: Sleater Kinney - Path Of Wellness

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!

It is of Sleater-Kinney's newest release, Path Of Wellness.

While not as big of a veer as their previous album, The Center Won't Hold, the newest from Tucker and Brownstein is a bit scattered and tame. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, the overall album doesn't really sparkle, perhaps it will be a grower. 

We shall see how time and our brain/ears treat it, as current our favorite from the album is "Worry With You".

Support the artists, buy the album, read the review and peep some video below:

Live Streams: Sleater-Kinney and Wilco from Red Rocks

For the last year live music was on lock down (like everything else in New York City). Live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. Things are improving on the pandemic front in this city, but live streams will be an option for the foreseeable future. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and as a way to help out the artists. You can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always please support the artists any which way you can.

Today we highlight: Sleater Kinney & Wilco Live from Red Rocks

A special show from a special venue tonight as two great alt rock acts take the stage in Colorado. Grab your tickets now. 

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To get in the mood here are live songs from both bands. 

New Sleater-Kinney Single "Hurry On Home" & Tour Dates

The fantastic Sleater-Kinney are back with a new single from their upcoming album which was produced by St. Vincent. When it was announced that those artists were pairing up, a track like the first single "Hurry On Home" with it's electro-dance feel is kinda what could be expected.

The track feels a bit like a mix of Carrie Brownstein's and Corrin Tuckers side projects like Wild Flag and especially Tuckers last solo record Kill My Blues which contained dance infused rock and roll. This is another side of an underrated band to explore...and RtBE can't wait for the full length release as their previous studio effort (not their live) the excellent, No Cities to Love rated high on our year end list of 2015. 

Peep the single and tour dates below...looks like RtBE will be spending Halloween with the band...

Happy 20th Anniversary to Sleater-Kinney's The Woods

On this day 20 years Sleater-Kinney released The Woods, an amazing album of ripping rock and roll.

This was the last album the band would release before a ten year hiatus when the excellent No Cities To Love emerged (which made our list of best albums of the 2010's). The Woods just may be RtBE's favorite SK album, so let's look back at it...

New Songs From Sleater-Kinney, Samantha Fish, Seratones and The Highwomen

Three of RtBE's favorites have released new tunes from upcoming full length releases and they are all pretty rad.

First up is Sleater-Kinney who unfortunately recently announced that Janet Weiss and the band are parting ways when their upcoming tour begins. It brings to an end an amazing era for the band, but Weiss plays on the forthcoming The Center Won't Hold, produced by St. Vincent and the title track is released now. It is a creeping, slow building explosion with some experimental tendencies:


Next up is the blues/rock/glam dynamo Samantha Fish with her first single from her upcoming album titled Kill or Be Kind. The track is titled "Bulletproof" and shows off Fish's cigar box guitar skills as well as a rolling blues groove and some distortion.


Batting third are the Seratones whose new album Power comes out in exactly a month. This is the title track with a powerful video from the group, shot in their hometown of Shreveport, LA.


The last new tune comes from The Highwomen who are a country/folk super group consisting of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby. Their first single is "Redesigning Women" and their full length will be out in September. Check out the cool video here:


Can't wait until all the full albums come out as they are some of our most anticipated of 2019.

Happy 25th Anniversary to Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out

One of the late 90's best rock albums turns 25 today as Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out was released on April 8th 1997. 

RtBE are huge fans of SK and Dig Me Out is a big reason why. It is the first album Janet Weiss played drums on, joining Corinne Tucker and Carrie Brownstein to form one of the best trios in rock history.  Their run together, up until 2019's The Center Won't Hold, produced classic album on top of classic album, but few (if any) top this gem.  

From the ripping title track opening to the "Jenny" closing, the album was a breakout for the band as Brownstein's and Tucker's wails on guitar and vocals snaked into and around each other with each yell or riff. Weiss laid down the foundation that allowed the guitars to soar while also keeping things grounded and visceral. 

While times have changed on some fronts it is still rare for full female bands to grab the ears of rock fans. Actually, back in the 90's it was more prevalent than it is today, which is sad. It is good that SK is still at it though and evolving with the times.  

A great rock album from start to finish and the one that really put SK the map.  On it's 25th anniversary give Dig Me Out a spin and play it loud. Here are a few tracks to get you started:

Sleater-Kinney Dig Me Out Tribute Album to Benefit LGBTQIA+ Youth Center

Last week we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Sleater-Kinney's breakthrough album Dig Me Out.  Now it is announced that a host of artists will be contributing to a benefit tribute album.

The artists covering tracks from the classic record include: Courtney Barnett, St. Vincent, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, The Linda Lindas, Margo Price, Low, Tunde Adebimpe, Wilco, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Big Joanie, Self Esteem, and Tyler Cole. 

The album will benefit  a local LGBTQIA+ Youth Center in Seattle. While the track listing hasn't been released, as to who will be covering what song, it is sure to be exciting with all of those talented people onboard. 

Here is an original track to get hyped for this tribute:

Album Review: Sleater- Kinney - Little Rope

Hey all, got a review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here:

It is of Sleater-Kinney's newest release, Little Rope. 

SK are one of RtBE personal favorites, but the truth is they have not been the same since they tried pop on The Center Won't Hold and Janet Weiss left the group. It isn't as simple as Weiss leaving, but for a band who had zero misses in their career, they are only batting 1 for 3 with their comeback as No Cities To Love is amazing and Path to Wellness is a forgettable snooze. 

Little Rope is better than the two previous, but nowhere near No Cities to Love's level. A good, not great album from a great all-time outfit. 

Support the artist, buy the album read the review ,and peep some video below:

Album Review: Sleater-Kinney- Live In Paris

Hey all, got a new review up @glidemag which you can read Right C'here!!!

It is of Sleater-Kinney's (who are an RtBE Personal Favorite) first ever live album, Live In Paris. With the band taking a long hiatus after their masterful The Woods, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that they lost none of what made them great on their comeback No Cities to Love. We dug that album and placed it high on our year end list, however this album which captures that tour really doesn't do much to bolster the groups legacy, sound or anything. 

It just feels like a nice memento from a decent night of music. Not to say the songs aren't awesome, the playing tight and loose, but all of the tracks lack that ump that in the studio SK deliver. Any-Which-Ways...

Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:

  

Live Streams: All In WA - Pearl Jam, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Sleater-Kinney and more

With live music on lock down (like everything else currently in New York City) live streams and old concerts have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. While this current state of pandemic separation is in order we will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing and listening pleasure and you can always check out or weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past. Please support the artists any which way you can.

Today we highlight: All In WA

Washington State has been hit hard with Covid-19 and like previous state held benefits, they are having a fund raiser tonight with some RtBE favorites including Pearl Jam and Sleater-Kinney

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Next Wednesday, livestream All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief on allinwa.org. Join artists and special guests as we come together to raise support for food security, unhoused youth, small businesses, and undocumented families across Washington. #allinWA #LinkInBio #wegotthiswa

A post shared by All In WA (@allinwa2020) on Jun 18, 2020 at 11:30am PDT

Tune in and help out tonight. To get in the mood here is some PJ and SK sharing the stage in Mexico City covering Uncle Neil:

Year In Review 2015- Top Ten Albums Part 3

Another great year is finishing up for @RockBodElec and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE Presents the Best of 2015 Top Ten Albums numbers 5-1:

Gameday Indeed!

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album either on the site or somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick summation, just click on the name and title and you can read it.  RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so expect some overlap. 

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but full releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for us. Personally we released an acoustic based EP this year, but we will graciously remove ourselves from the rankings however, you can gave it a listen or download it for free.

Today we finish our top ten, in retrospect it was a year with a lot of good albums but few great ones, sorta like 2011 which overall was the weakest year of releases since we started this site. Last year we had a dog fight at the top and honestly any in the 2014 top five would have been in the peak slot this go around. (If you missed them, Part 1 and Part 2)

Our top ten for 2015 is filled with pop, acoustic, cover songs, noise, punk and a very healthy sprinkling of female artists so click the Read More to dive into things

Top 50 Albums of the 2010's: Numbers 20-11

Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked out that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.

Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.

If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.

Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.

Never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.

We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.

As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed it's rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.

Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. Here are numbers 20-11:

Year in Review 2009 - Top 10 Albums Part 2

In retrospect this year produced some killer music and a few really great full length offerings.  Lots of established artists and virgins newbies put out valiant efforts, so like everyone and their grandmother I came up with a Top Ten List from the past 12 months.  No live albums, box-sets or re-releases were harmed, or even considered for this list, Feel free to voice your opinions vigorously.

 A lot of these albums I have already reviewed for Glide or other sites, so when that is the case I will link to my full review and try to say something else about the album here, because over the course of the year feelings can/do change on things.  Oh and give the groups some love by grabbing their albums, or even better, get up off your ass and see them live when they come around.

10-6 After the jump..