LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� In a video introducing Sleater-Kinney鈥檚 last album, 2021鈥檚 鈥淧ath of Wellness,鈥� the duo of and Corin Tucker ask a psychic if they鈥檒l ever record another album. She initially says yes, then to 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really up in the air.鈥�
At different moments in time, both answers could be viewed as correct. Sleater-Kinney is always writing, and their 10th studio album (their second since the departure of drummer Janet Weiss) is the result of many conflicting ideas.
鈥淟ittle Rope鈥�, which will be released Jan. 19, was written in a place of mourning and meditation 鈥� of personal loss and political unease.
In the fall of 2022, Brownstein鈥檚 mom and stepfather were killed in a car accident while vacationing in Italy. The American embassy, desperate to get a hold of Brownstein, called her listed emergency contact: her bandmate, Tucker.
In the months that followed, Brownstein found comfort playing guitar for hours on end. 鈥淚 just needed to feel my fingers on something that was solid,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen people leave this Earth, you are aware of what is still here, and what is tactile versus what you鈥檒l never touch again.鈥�
First came 鈥淯ntidy Creature,鈥� the album鈥檚 closer. Brownstein wrote the opening riff about a year before the accident. 鈥淚 had so many doubts about that song, which is a common theme in terms of the writing of this record, is sort of having a lot of questions about songs that became such certainties,鈥� she says.
The album didn鈥檛 take shape until the middle of 2022. 鈥淎lmost none of those songs made the record,鈥� Tucker reiterates the reservations. Tracks felt overly vulnerable or emotional, in her view. 鈥淚t took me a long time to realize, that鈥檚 what this record is: it鈥檚 really raw.鈥� Fans may be surprised by the distinction 鈥� this is a band long celebrated for their directness, in musicality and otherwise.
Grammy-award winning producer John Congleton (known for his work with St. Vincent, Death Cab for Cutie, Regina Spektor) helped them get there.
The first single from 鈥淟ittle Rope鈥� is 鈥淗ell,鈥� the opening track. It鈥檚 restrained and then explosive, something resembling controlled chaos 鈥� two different melodies that battle one another and work in concert. The title is not pulled from some fearful religiosity, rather, hell as a state of being.
鈥淗ell鈥� wrestles with many injustices while 鈥渄ropping us in a place and a time and a feeling and an emotion of helplessness and frustration,鈥� Tucker says. 鈥淎nd revelation: of how much control we had conceded at that present moment in time.
鈥淚t became a symbol of how deeply in crisis we are, right? As human beings, as the planet, in terms of the violence in our culture. I think it is pretty specific to America and who we are,鈥� she continued.
That exists beyond the experience of personal grief, but on the record, it serves as a reminder of the various experiences of it. 鈥淗ell,鈥� in that way, is reflection of what Brownstein calls 鈥渁n exploration of the liminal, of sort of being between two states of, like, you know, joy and grief, or alive and dead, high-low鈥� a precipice, the idea of precarity.
鈥淎 lot of these songs were written before I lost my mom, but her death informed the process as much as it informed the actual content of the songs,鈥� she says.
This is the first record in many years 鈥� likely since 2005鈥檚 鈥淭he Woods鈥� 鈥� that Tucker does the majority of the singing. 鈥淚 really needed to hear Corin鈥檚 voice, and so much of the grief was returning to what I needed.鈥� Brownstein could play guitar and write songs, but she needed her bandmate and closest friend to sing it, and to sing it in a fashion that did justice to the subject matter.
The album鈥檚 title makes sense in that context. That 鈥淟ittle Rope,鈥� that push and pull, the comfort and the ways in which the pair challenge each other, makes this record one of their best in years.
鈥淢usic, to me, is a ritual that is very sacred and thus very close to prayer. You know, there is something prayerful about the choreography of returning to guitar or singing. And so, I think it is actually a very natural, like, probably age-old way of processing sorrow,鈥� Brownstein says.
Song allows you to share your interiority, and so 鈥減laying music is really important for the process of living with grief,鈥� she adds.
There is beauty in another stage of the process: sharing it with others, on a record or in a live arena. Tucker calls it 鈥渢he transcendent moment where you鈥檙e both giving and gaining鈥� with an audience. 鈥淟ike said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got your religion, I鈥檝e got mine.鈥欌��
Brownstein jumps in, 鈥淎nd Sleater-Kinney has always been a container for our vulnerabilities.
鈥淲e have so many songs that come from a place of strife or anger and then they just start to sound triumphant after a while,鈥� she adds. 鈥淎nd that, I think, is the beauty of sharing music with people.鈥�
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
