My journey to discover new music by female artists in 2024 would be easy if there were more bands like Sleater-Kinney releasing music this year. This ground-breaking group is one of the primary examples of how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is biased and sexist. Their discography is as strong as any other group who has recorded during the last 30 years. If you like them, then you know what to expect. They are consistent in quality and sound, which is an amazing accomplishment for a band who has been around for as long as they have. If you aren’t familiar with them then you should probably listen to their 1997 masterpiece, Dig Me Out, before you listen to Little Rope. If you like that one, then this one will not disappoint.
Little Rope by Sleater-Kinney
Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way. Sleater-Kinney is now down to two original members – Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker. Little Rope is their 11th full length album. The songs on the album are centered around the deaths of Brownstein’s mother and stepfather in a car accident in 2022. Side note (because everyone should watch it): Brownstein is the co-star of Portlandia.
Little Rope kicks off with the first single. “Hell” is about as good as the music of Sleater-Kinney gets. A quiet, haunting verse explodes into a loud, catchy, swirling guitar chorus. After a couple verse/chorus tradeoffs, the bridge comes in with a familiar guitar riff and then the final chorus takes it home. Like most of the best songs of their career, this one clocks in at around 3 minutes but feels like an epic. The indie rock perfection continues with “Needlessly Wild” before “Say It Like You Mean It” delivers another career highlight. Sounding as much like Chryssie Hynde as one could want without being derivative, this third track delivers an infectious hook and a wonderful vocal performance. At this point in most modern albums, artists will drop in a slower tune or even an instrumental interlude. Sleater-Kinney aren’t interested in that. They spend the next 6 songs presenting one mid-tempo indie rocker after another before closing with the best song on the album. “Untidy Creature” is pure rock and roll poetry. Delivered with a barely controlled vocal and riddled with angst, the angular guitars drive the song into an epic middle section that quietly pulls you in before throwing you back out into the painful closing. It is arguably the best album closer of their career.
Most bands with careers of 30+ years tend to evolve and adapt in order to either find a space in modern music or maintain the creative inspiration needed to continue writing new material. Sleater-Kinney break that mold. As one of the originators of the sound they have perfected, every album they deliver finds them discovering yet more ways to create fantastic indie/alt rock. Eleven albums of consistently high quality music should be heralded with an induction to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That won’t happen, but at least they are still delivering the goods. As always, thanks for listening, and reading!
To learn more about Sleater-Kinney, check out there official website or visit their Instagram page.
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