I’ve spent the week juggling social engagements
(also working). I never get frustrated with the pressure of seeing all the
people I care about, because it is a wonderful reminder that I am rich with
friends. That’s the best kind of rich.
Anyway, on to the review which is my second
perfect score in three albums. Don’t worry, I’m not getting soft, I’m just
getting exposed to some seriously great music.
Disc 1294 is… The Center Won’t Hold
Artist:
Sleater-Kinney
Year of Release: 2019
What’s up with the
Cover?
A creative twist on the very traditional (and oft-referenced) Giant Head cover.
Here Sleater-Kinney has blended their heads together into a single Giant Head.
Other notable albums with blended/distorted heads include Queen’s “The Miracle”
(reviewed way back at Disc 52) and Sarah Jarosz’s “Follow Me Down”
(reviewed at Disc 996).
How I Came to Know
It: I was already a fan of
Sleater-Kinney through their earlier work and so gave this record a try.
How It Stacks Up: I have four Sleater-Kinney albums that span
across their career. This record is their best yet, and I’m putting in #1. It
is also one of the best records of 2019 so far.
Ratings: 5 stars
“The Center Won’t Hold” is a great example of
how it is never too late in a band’s career to deliver a classic record.
Twenty-five years after their first album took Seattle's alternative rock scene by storm, Sleater-Kinney has once again delivered something fresh and
furious, with a new sound that demonstrates the bravery to explore new approaches
to their work.
A big part of this new approach is courtesy of
the musical genius that is St. Vincent (who actually is the producer
this time, unlike my gaffe earlier this month). St. Vincent is doing things
like no one else in music right now, finding novel ways to blend techno, pop
and hard rock into a sound that is crisp and crunchy at the same time. On “The
Center Won’t Hold” she brings her inspired alchemy to Sleater-Kinney.
The result is a the riot grrrl snarl that
Sleater-Kinney helped create in the early nineties, blended with St. Vincent’s
mastery of soundscapes and sharp yet visceral production. This will not suit
all Sleater-Kinney devotees, who may miss the organic garage rock sound of
their earlier records, but I love it. The original bite is still there, but now
with some creative studio decisions that helps the songs stand out both
individually and one to the other.
Sleater-Kinney have long been known as great
songwriters, matching catchy riffs with rebellious anger. Their lyrics explore
universal truths about the human condition through a personal introspection
that is sometimes harrowing in its honesty. “The Center Won’t Hold” has this
talent on full display.
The album also shows remarkable musical range.
The title track is a cross between industrial nineties percussion and punk
snarl and the album branches from there into virtually every nook and cranny that
rock and roll has to offer.
“Hurry on Home” is a song full of
urgency and sexual energy with a driving guitar that – like the desires of its
narrator – cannot be denied. “Can I Go On” takes that energy and
examines it in the third person – exploring the relationship between an artist’s
personal desires, and the marketing of those desires for money, best exemplified
in this line:
“Everyone I know is funny
But jokes don’t make us money
Sell our rage, buy and trade
But we still cry for free every day.”
There are also songs with laid back surfer guitar (“Restless”),
songs with apocalyptic feedback (“RUINS”) and songs filled with pop
hooks and handclaps (“LOVE”). Despite all this variety, the album’s centre does
hold, with all these sounds coming together in a cohesive whole. The vocals
are the best of any album to date, which is saying something, and St. Vincent’s
steady hand on the tiller just takes everything great about Sleater-Kinney and
somehow makes it better.
It is hard to pick favourites on a record like
this, but “The Dog/The Body” is a perfect mix of thoughtful lyrics, production
brilliance, and a song structure that sways back and forth between raw and
emotional verses like:
“I’m just the dog
I’m just the body tonight
I’m just the fist without
The will to fight.”
that are filled with doubt, and a triumphant
chorus of
“Baby, baby, baby, I don’t mind
Can’t keep singing the same old
lines”
featuring a devil-may-care melodic soar that internalizes
all that doubt and draws strength from it. The song has a slow, perfectly timed
build and ends with some inspired guitar and a slow fade out. It leaves you feeling
a bit unresolved, but at ease with the lack of closure all the same.
Old-school Sleater-Kinney fans might not
like the shift in their sound, but that would be their loss. I love listening
to an artist evolve over time, and with results this amazing, Sleater-Kinney
can keep shifting their centre all they want.
Best tracks: all tracks
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