Sleater-Kinney will christen its new deal with Sub Pop via the May 24 release of the album “The Woods.” As previously reported, the 11-track set was produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev) and recorded during a November burst at his upstate New York studio.
“The Woods” makes good on details guitarist/vocalist Corin Tucker revealed to Billboard.com just prior to the band hitting the recording studio. “The songs we’ve written are really heavy,” she said. “We want them to have an organic feel that is simplistic and yet sophisticated at the same time.”
“Some of them are much longer than we’ve ever written before,” she added. “There’s actually a space jam in between two of the songs.” Said jam bridges the thick rocker “Let’s Call It Love” and the echo-laden closer “Night Light” with five minutes of dirty blues guitar interplay and effects pedal assaults.
Much like Fugazi’s last two albums, “The Fox” finds Sleater-Kinney effectively broadening its sound without damaging the unique dynamic between Tucker, guitarist/vocalist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss.
The album opens with the sludgy, overdriven “The Fox,” before offering up Hendrix-worthy guitar licks on “Wilderness,” chilly, harmony-tinged verse/emphatic chorus juxtapositions on “Jumpers” and a straight-up, sunny ballad (albeit with Fridmann’s arsenal of production tricks) on “Modern Girl.”
Sleater-Kinney begins a short run of live dates Feb. 25 in Bellingham, Wash., followed by a show the next night in Vancouver, a March 2-3 stand at New York’s Mercury Lounge and a March 16 gig as part of the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
A more extensive tour is in the works for later in the year.
Here is the track list for “The Woods”:
“The Fox”
“Wilderness”
“What’s Mine Is Yours”
“Jumpers”
“Modern Girl”
“Entertain”
“Rollercoaster”
“Steep Air”
“Let’s Call It Love”
“Night Light”
Source billboard.com.
