Review: Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love
By Megan Fair, Copy Chief
[Sub Pop; 2015]
Rating: 8.5/10
Key Tracks: “Price Tag,” “No Anthems,” “Gimme Love”
Confrontational, riffy, edgy, smart. All of these adjectives join in perfect tandem to describe the band Sleater-Kinney; they were suited to describe the Sleater-Kinney release in 1995 and are still fitting now, 20 years later. After eight years of separation to pursue solo work, Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss are back and writing the smartest and most delightfully technical work they have put out in the entirety of their careers. To call it a comeback might take away from the fact that this record sounds as fresh as if Sleater-Kinney put it out only a year or two after The Woods. With No Cities To Love, Sleater-Kinney has fully realized its sound, a style and realization two decades in the making.
No Cities To Love says a lot of really important things about the current economic and environmental crisis, our society and the relationships we share in this strange age, in a way that only Sleater-Kinney can. Tucker’s vocals demand to be heard, the carefully crafted riffs and precise percussion providing a platform for the political narrative to be heard loud and clear. While S-K has always been a good band, it is clear that in the years its members spent apart they were honing their craft and diversifying their musical interests and skills. Some of the guitar work sounds reminiscent of St. Vincent, which is an exciting addition to the classic-rock-meets-edgy-indie-rock sound that the group offers.
Although it seems a little trite to try and permanently tether this group to their riot grrrl roots, this album is proof of the very obvious fact that women fucking rock and Sleater-Kinney isn’t just a band of women that rock, it is a band of incredibly skilled musicians in every sense of the word. I want to push my way to the front of a crowd and link arms with fellow ladies and thrash around to every single track, celebrating the honesty, guitar carnage and wicked drum work. It is unrelenting, demanding and authentic.
There’s a million things to celebrate about this record, but one of the best things about it is the absurdly beautiful guitar tone. I want to date the guitar tone on this record. The guitar work is rich, eclectic and enveloping, each lick presenting a unique pattern or feel. It’s meaty and inviting, easy to get lost in the thick warmth of each track’s thoughtful string work.
“Price Tag” kicks off the record with sharp social critique, the lyrics talking about the drag of the working class struggle and the consequences of the credit card era. Its ominous tone, darkly harmonic guitar licks and frank imagery paints the picture of panic and hysteria of a generation of people drowning in credit card and student loan debt, revealing the image of young, starving children wishing for brand names and being told that it’s out of the question. “I was blind by the money, I was numb from the greed / I’ll take God when I’m ready, I’ll choose sin till I leave,” wails Brownstein over apocalyptic cacophony, confessing her capitalistic sins.
Sandwiched next to each other towards the back half of the record are the bangers “No Anthems” and “Gimme Love.” “No Anthems” carries that dark tone, the pang of thinking of the past wound up into a grimy, electronic-tinted package. And “Gimme Love” has a fetching melody and the percussive drive to make you get out of your seat and groove around the room as you listen to it.
Front to back, the album knocks it out of the park. Even the moments that feel a little bit like classic arena rock sound cool. S-K has truly continued its upward climb as impressive songwriters, and No Cities To Love sets an impressive standard for the rest of the records set to arrive this year.
