Sleater-Kinney
The Woods (2005)
Sleater-Kinney were born out of the Olympia riot grrrl scene; singer/guitarist Corin Tucker was previously a member of a well regarded riot grrrl band, while other members Carrie Brownstein (guitar/vocals) and Janet Weiss (drums) were also members of assorted riot grrrl/queercore bands. Despite these origins, the group crafted themselves an appealing mainstream indie rock sound for most of their career.
Until this, their final album (unless rumours of a potential reunion come to fruition), The Woods.
This album, produced by master producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, MGMT and Mercury Rev amongst others) features a dirty, raw, garage style sound, with heavy influences in 60s and 70s blues-based hard rock. The result is one hell of an electrifying album, and a wonderful closing note for an underrated band.
The Album
The Woods is wall-to-wall with fuzzy, scratchy guitar riffs, thumping drums and passionate, wailing vocals. While Tucker and Brownstein may not be technically proficient guitar wankers, they riff as hard as anyone, while Brownstein's approach to solos is to make them discordant, chaotic, unpredictable and just plain noisy. Fridmann deserves credit for his production also. Given that he is more at home with creating lush, multi-instrumental soundscapes, his ability to show a different side here, keeping the arrangements simple and raw whilst maintaining an unhinged quality to the sound, is outstanding.
Genuinely, honestly, I did not find there was a single song on The Woods that I did not like. The abrasive riffs and punchy drumming are insane, intense and thoroughly enjoyable. Highlights abound; opener The Fox is powerful and discordant, albeit with low-in-the-mix (yet no less powerful) vocals, What's Mine Is Yours charts a course for 'Jimmy Page on Dazed and Confused' Land, with its chaotic ballsy guitar sound that sounds like the wailing of a million guitar banshees, while Jumpers starts as a 60s garage tune, before settling into a song full of punk and riot grrrl scene touches. Modern Girl breaks the album up perfectly, acting as a nice counterpoint to the album's abrasive flint, featuring mournful harmonica blasts, dual guitar work (which is quite pleasant) and minimal drums. Entertain features more punk rock flavours, a crazed barely in-tune vocal from Brownstein and a denouement that burns intensely with power and energy.
Rollercoaster goes into southern rock territory with a swampy groovy riff and an undeniably rocking vibe, while the surprising Steep Air mixes 90s alternative crawling tempos with the experimental hardness of 70s hard rock; Weiss' rumbling tom fills give the sound a real edge, while there are even elements, if you listen to the riff pick up after the choruses, of that early tuneless Flaming Lips punk/alternative sound; noise solos and ADHD drumming.
Penultimate track Let's Call It Love is unapologetically seductive, with an aggression that is bloody refreshing to hear from an all-girl band; this is the sound of women taking control of their sexuality, and it's outstanding. It's wrapped up in an eleven minute sprawl that is positively Zeppelinesque. The early arrangements and riffs are brilliant, and when the song settles into its groove, the instrumentation from all three members is insanely good. The lead guitar playing is unconventional, adding to the raw garage vibe of the song, while Weiss doubles as some sort of new Keith Moon, keeping time by throwing out all conventions of timekeeping. It builds into absolute mayhem at the end.....a brilliant end to a quality tune.
Rollercoaster goes into southern rock territory with a swampy groovy riff and an undeniably rocking vibe, while the surprising Steep Air mixes 90s alternative crawling tempos with the experimental hardness of 70s hard rock; Weiss' rumbling tom fills give the sound a real edge, while there are even elements, if you listen to the riff pick up after the choruses, of that early tuneless Flaming Lips punk/alternative sound; noise solos and ADHD drumming.
Penultimate track Let's Call It Love is unapologetically seductive, with an aggression that is bloody refreshing to hear from an all-girl band; this is the sound of women taking control of their sexuality, and it's outstanding. It's wrapped up in an eleven minute sprawl that is positively Zeppelinesque. The early arrangements and riffs are brilliant, and when the song settles into its groove, the instrumentation from all three members is insanely good. The lead guitar playing is unconventional, adding to the raw garage vibe of the song, while Weiss doubles as some sort of new Keith Moon, keeping time by throwing out all conventions of timekeeping. It builds into absolute mayhem at the end.....a brilliant end to a quality tune.
The Verdict
If The Woods really does, in history's final washup, turn out to be Sleater-Kinney's final album release, then they can at least rest easy that their last studio release was an outstanding work. It's aggressive noisy punk/alternative rock that takes classic rock influences and bends them to serve the band's will. It's crazed, urgent and insistent, and above all, fucking enjoyable.
The Woods is another album that will be staying permanently in my album collection.
My rating: **** and a half
Standout Tracks
Let's Call It Love
Jumpers
Steep Air
My next album is a pop release from the 2000s, that I do remember being on the now-lost forever album schedule....
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