Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005) - Review

Sleater-Kinney - The Woods - (2005) - Cover

Out Of The Woods Into The Light (4/5)

Sleater-Kinney, the name conjurs some dour mid 90s Brit-Pop dirge sayers. I didn't know anything about them until I was handed an advance copy of The Woods. I mused as to what kind of stuff to expect, then spotted the Sub-Pop label and began to perk up. Never being one to shy away from something new, I popped it on and was promptly blown away.

From the opening barrage of 70s cock-rock via golden age 80s grunge fuzz guitar riffage to the closing apocalyptic guitar mangling and darkly psychedelic opus, the album suceeds in both moving, shaking and surprising in equal measure. Howling vocals, at times bring to mind the Yeah Yeah Yeahs spitting out early 'In Rock' Deep Purple, at others its X-Ray Spexs and PJ Harvey. Blink for a second and its meandering indie-punk sweetness. Blink and the howl's back and the guitars under-pinning it fire-up in a dirty haze.

Opening track The Fox sets the bar high, and subsequent tracks throw themselves at it gleeful abandon, at times they get there, at others they leave the stage via the back door, skirt the bar then pull out the supports and step over it. Sleater-Kinney showcase a wealth of talent and songwriting ability. At times lyrically fairytale like The Fox, at others wryly ironic and bitting like the hymn to modern 'happy shiny' culture Modern Girl.

The album has a dense and kinetic feel, thick and fuzzy like a favourite old sweater. There's lots going on in the mix, lots of nice little twists, jumps and strange soundscapes. It's never there to cover up any lack of talent either, it works to make this a strong and essential release for the early half of 2005. Its due out the later half of May 2005 - don't miss out.

David Lloyd © March 2005 - Originally written for DioBach.com

Related Sites

Return To S Index
Return To Music Reviews Index