Little Rope

インディーロック・バンド Sleater-Kinney、11枚目のスタジオ・アルバム

米ワシントン州オリンピア出身のインディーロック・バンド
グラミー賞受賞プロデューサー John Congleton とともにレコーディングされた
控えめなものからアンセミックなもの、キャッチーなものから意図的にハードなものまで様々な楽曲を収録

Partway through the recording of Little Rope, Sleater-Kinneys second album in the wake of the 2019 departure of drummer Janet Weiss, Carrie Brownstein received word that her mother and stepfather had died in a car accident in Italy. Little Rope is shaped by that tragedy not in content -- much of the record had already been composed -- but in execution. Aided by longtime friend and bandmate Corin Tucker, Brownstein finds solace within the creation of music, fusing the groups recent post-punk explorations with the urgency of their punk beginnings. The focus of Little Rope is bracing, particularly as it arrives after a pair of exploratory albums where Brownstein and Tucker searched on how to usher Sleater-Kinney into middle age. Those lessons are absorbed, not discarded; compared to the flinty records Sleater-Kinney made in the 1990s, theres an expanded aural palette, one that sounds vibrant on both the fringes and at its pulsating heart. Guitars remain central to Brownstein and Tuckers vision, yet they dont necessarily provide the focus. Instead, Little Rope coheres around songs and expression, the two halves of Sleater-Kinney finding sustenance in the creation of music. Sadness lurks upon the edges of the record, as does rage, but Little Rope ultimately feels cathartic: by processing Brownsteins loss and dwelling upon their shared bonds, Sleater-Kinney once again feels united and purposeful. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine