SLEATER-KINNEY – THE WOODS
[SUB POP]
The woods are normally thought to be a place of sublimity and tranquility. That was before Sleater-Kinney packed bags and moved from hometown Portland to Dave Fridmann’s studio in upstate New York to record their seventh album.
If you’ve always loved S-K, but always wondered what it would like if they really turned things up to 11 and finally indulged their hardest rock tendencies, this is what you’ve been waiting for. The Woods is Sleater-Kinney’s loudest, most ambitious and most challenging album of their now ten year recording career. From the allegorical assault of opener “The Fox� to the 11-minute march of “Let’s Call It Love�, record is nearly relentless in its emotionally and sensory punishing pace. At track five, “Modern Girl� serves as the proverbial eye of the storm where the girls pull back to let in a brief moment of tenderness, while closer “Night Light� ambiguously sees the way out.
With an album as huge as this, having opened for Pearl Jam during their 2003 Riot Act Tour, it may not be long before Carrie, Corin and Janet are headlining their very own stadium tour.
5/5
