Sleater-Kinney - The Path of Wellness

The Guardian 0

(Mom + Pop)
The band’s first album as a duo gets back to glowering-rock fundamentals – but does it chime with the mood of the times?

The last time Sleater-Kinney put out an album, there was an almighty to-do – at least, in the febrile world of progressive indie rock. The Center Won’t Hold (2019) boasted a new producer – Annie “St Vincent” Clark – and a sleeker, more gleaming approach to the band’s twin-guitar post-punk.

Somehow – accounts differ – Sleater-Kinney’s revised working methods didn’t suit long-time drummer Janet Weiss, who left after recording was completed: a familiar, age-old rock’n’roll story given a sour aftertaste by the reputation Sleater-Kinney have accrued over 27 years as a female-positive sisterhood. A fan backlash ensued, to the extent that the search term “St Vincent broke up Sleater-Kinney” still pops up when you Google them.

Sleater-Kinney have a classic rock streak a mile wide and the experience to push faders as they see fit

Related: Sleater-Kinney review: an all-change powerhouse of a gig