Review by LarryG
2 stars out of 4
Sleater-Kinney have been critics' darlings from the start of their
career. There's some justification for that. Their music sounded different.
It was the sound of strong women, made especially distinctive by Corin
Tucker's unique, shrill vocals, which communicated both pain and a
confident willingness to be different. From the title track of
their breakthrough record, Call the Doctor, Tucker cast herself as
an outsider, lamenting a world where "they want to socialize
you", "they want to dignify, analyze, terrorize you."
The band made spare rock with overlapping vocal lines punctuated by
Carrie Brownstein's tough, sharp guitar lines. It's always been a
challenge to listen to a whole album of Tucker's shrieking, which has
the sense of a woman possessed. The challenge is even greater on the
Hot Rock, which doesn't have as many appealing songs as its predecessors.
Call the Doctor had punk rage in songs like Little Mouth and fun, fast
rock songs like Stay Where You Are. Dig Me Out, their best record,
retained their intensity and individuality but had improved songwriting
and a clearer sound. The result was a lot of great rock songs. The Drama
You've Been Craving, Dig Me Out and Words and Guitar were fast, exciting
rock songs and the band showed a new subtlety on One More Hour and Little
Babies.Unfortunately, on The Hot Rock, the band seems to be treading
water and the sound has stop evolving. Since we've already heard
the raw vocals and lean, low budget guitar rock sound, another record
of the same means diminishing returns. Sleater-Kinney are interesting
writers so there are many nuggets to be found. Perhaps part of the reason
for the relative lack of luster of The Hot Rock is that members of the
band have gone through tough romantic times. A number of the songs are
about shattered relationships. However, on a number of songs, the band
turns sad feelings into very good songs. The strength of Tucker's voice
contradicts the desperation of the lyrics as she sings, "baby don't
you leave me" in Start Together. Burn, Don't Freeze is classic
Sleater-Kinney, a driving rock song where the singers trade overlapping
vocals. At the start of the song, Brownstein is the cynic while
Tucker is an innocent who trusted when her lover "said I'd blossom
under your care" but by the end, she declares that "I'm the
one who decides who I am." On Memorize Your Lines, the singers trade
roles with Brownstein playing the lovelorn woman who wakes up "feeling
dead." while Tucker is ready for a fight. Some of the lyrics seem
a little overdone. The metaphors, of a jewel heist to recapture a heart
from an unworthy suitor in the title track, sung by Brownstein, and of
the band as a ship sailing around all kinds of obstacles in The End Of
You, are a little heavy handed. God is a Number is a fairly ordinary
complaint that computers and technology can mean that the heart and the
human mind have less relevance. Banned From the End of the World, the
song that follows, is lighter lyrically and musically and has more fun
with millenial fear. On the last couple songs of The Hot Rock, the band
tries slightly different things to good effect. Memorize Your Lines is
fairly standard Sleater-Kinney but it benefits from the subtle addition
of strings. A Quarter to Three has a slower, relaxed feel and shows
that Tucker's vocals don't have to be really annoying. Brownstein and
Tucker are clearly bright and talented.
Since they've established their indie cred, it's probably time to expand
their sound, hire a bass player and go beyond the low budget thing. A
taste for Sleater-Kinney is a very personal thing. Under any
circumstances, Tucker's harsh wail would be basically unlistenable to
many listeners while their most rabid core of listeners will undoubtedly
still enjoy the Hot Rock. Still, it seems that Sleater-Kinney has missed
an opportunity to win over unconverted alternative fans looking for more
edgy fare.
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