The Return of Sleater Kinney

February 24, 2015

The return of Sleater Kinney, and I got to share the experience (with my sister, who actually turned me onto them when she was a college student at Bates College, working at their radio station, WRBC, which we used to listen to together when she was in high school). They have always been arguably one of my Top Five favorite bands of all-time, sharing space with Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails, but that's beside the point. I've seen them in concert, I think, now 5 times (one time, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs opened for them at a club in Boston, back when the band YYYs were just a small band with one EP out).

They were the quintessential riot grrl, indie punk band of the entire 1990s and early 2000s, before going on hiatus in 2006 to many fans who didn't understand the desire for a break.

Their first self-titled album came out in 1995 to a music scene in dire need of straight-up, honest music, especially since Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994. Then, they put out Call the Doctor in 1996. But it was 1997 that found the band really coming into their own and they released "Dig Me Out" which is arguably one of the best break-up related albums of all time. It was brutally honest in how it felt to love and lose. It came on the heels of bandmates, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker ending their relationship, and still wanting/needing to be in a band together and continue to make great music together. It is my favorite of their albums, and my life circumstances have found me playing it quite a bit as I attempted to get over my own love and loss. If you need convincing, just check out the album ending track and the second track, too.

In 1999, "The Hot Rock" came out and they started seeing more attention from the masses. "All Hands on the Bad One" came out in 2000. And then, 2002, "One Beat" came out after the nation had just experienced the heartache and pain and loss on 9/11/01 and found millions of people trying to understand and cope. "One Beat" is probably the second best musical response to 9/11- and first one of course coming from Bruce Springsteen in the form of "The Rising." His album was a close proximity heartfelt response, while Sleater Kinney's album was an all the way across the nation, in Portland, Oregon response to what they witnessed on television and trying to understand and put the pieces together, as well as place the blame in the right direction. From a political band like Sleater Kinney, who lean left and are self-described feminists, you couldn't or wouldn't expect anything less. Also, in 2001, TIME magazine named/crowned them the Greatest Rock Band. in 2005, they put out "The Woods" which really expanded their musical style and palate. It oozed of influences from Sonic Youth to Fugazi, with a little bit of psychedelic and classic rock mixed in. It was sonically inspiring to hear and see this small punk band becoming a larger entity. Then, perhaps knowing they were about to literally blow up the world-over and sensing what that meant for them, collectively and individually, they decided to go on an indefinite hiatus.

And now, they've just put out a new album "No Cities to Love" just when we all need it. And it does not disappoint. It also means they are touring, and I just saw them in all their glory again. They have always put on a very energetic and booming show, just the three ladies (this time, they've added another female member). Their tour is also being sponsored by Planned Parenthood, and you shouldn't expect anything less from this fantastic band. Corin Tucker, the outspoken member, even spent a few minutes before their encore discussing the need for equality among genders.