If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Chris Hornbecker "Untidy Creature" continues Sleater-Kinney's musical evolution into a new, unexpected direction. This new single sounds nothing like the iconic band's classic 90's albums, but it also doesn't sound anything like their more recent pop/electronic focused albums, either. Instead, "Untidy Creature" follows previous singles "Hell" and "Say It Like You Mean It" into a new territory. If The Center Won't Hold and Path of Wellness showed a band in transition and trying out a new sound, the singles off their upcoming album show a band figuring out that new sound. "Untidy Creature" may be more pop than we would have expected Sleater-Kinney to get, but this feels like a natural progression for them to have gone in. This one is a power ballad, but a power ballad bursting out of classic Sleater-Kinney. Sleater-Kinney say of their new single: “‘ Untidy Creature’ was the first song we wrote for Little Rope,...

Photo by Chris Hornbecker As someone who didn't like the last two Sleater-Kinney albums but loved their single released last month ("Hell"), I was nervous to check out the second single from their upcoming album. "Hell" could have been a fluke, and I'd end up hating "Say It Like You Mean It." I'm both relieved and thrilled to say this new single is also fantastic. With "Say It Like You Mean It," Sleater-Kinney have found this new ground that isn't anything like their 90's classics but still fresh enough to keep even their most snobby middle-aged indie rock fans (aka me) happy with a thrilling new sound. The Center Won't Hold and Path of Wellness were them trying out a brand new sound, and so far Little Rope appears to be them mastering it. Carrie Brownstein says of her band's new video, which she directed: “ The video tells the story of a woman who's lost all sense of what's appropriate .  Sick with the alienat...

Photo by Chris Hornbecker I'm going to be possibly too honest here. I didn't like Sleater-Kinney's The Center Won't Hold or Path of Wellness. And not because their new pop-leaning sound isn't what I want from Sleater-Kinney. Songs from those albums would end up on Spotify playlists, and I would dislike them before I knew who it was by. When I saw they had a new single out, I listened more of out a sense of obligation than excitement. But it turns out "Hell" is a great song. It's in no way a return to form for Sleater-Kinney. This isn't a throwback to their classic 90's sound. Instead, "Hell" stays in their more pop oriented sound, but it's more of a rock based sound than they've had since 2015's comeback album No Cities to Love . It's also more of a dark version of pop, and what I would have hoped for if someone told me Sleater-Kinney would toy with alt-pop more. This is a solid indie rock meets alt-pop song, and I...