Path Of Wellness - Sleater-Kinney: Review
Sleater-Kinney
are a female fronted punk rock outfit from Washington with origins in the riot grrrl movement of the 1990's. The bands original run of records leading up to the mid 2000's is a universally acclaimed set of punk and indie rock releases and that acclaim continued when the band reformed in 2015 with their No Cities To Love comeback album. They're 9th album was released in 2019 to very mixed reviews and is seen by many as one of their worst despite drawing attention for its St. Vincent production, and Path Of Wellness is the first record to not feature longtime drummer Janet Weiss.
Review By Lav:
I love Sleater-Kinney, from widely accepted classics like The Woods and No Cities To Love to underrated gems like Dig Me Out and The Hot Rock the girl's punk flare has always appealed to me. This is why it was so difficult to hear 2019's The Center Won't Hold which did feature a few great songs but was largely the bands most muddled and aimless project to date. I was nervous at how quickly they turned it around as well, with the whole thing sort of feeling like an attempt to get their last record out of out memories. While this may not hold up to the bands classic work I'm happy to report that it is at least an improvement.
The first thing we've got to talk about here are the singles, because they're a weird bunch. Worry With You is a sort of bouncy punk flavored track with a strong groove. There is certainly a lot of attitude coming off the vocals but I don't think it's being sold particularly well. The more I listen to the track the more the refrains kind of make me roll my eyes. From a songwriting standpoint there are actually elements of the track that I quite like but something is wrong with the delivery that I can't quite pinpoint. High In The Grass is another song I'm kind of mixed about because the hook is actually pretty exciting and a bit catchy but getting there can be a slog. Some of the repeated refrains are really grueling and the instrumental isn't nearly as exciting. I wouldn't call the song bad but the pacing is certainly inconsistent. Method was the final single and I legitimately really enjoy the instrumental the band is rocking pretty efficiently throughout the entire track. This time I can pinpoint my issues with the performance and its centered around the corny bravado of the vocals that sound like they're meant for a Foxygen song. Given that none of the lyrics or instrumental warrant that level of dramatics it feels out of place, even though it doesn't completely ruin what I like about the song.
Thankfully even though I was mixed on the singles there are a couple tracks here that I like unequivocally. Path Of Wellness is kind of the perfect opener encapsulating a lot of the albums thematic stepping stones. It is also sonically exciting with an off-kilter groove that is almost Talking Heads line. It's got an injection of personality that totally lives up to the instrumental as well and on the back half it quickly descends into something delectably chaotic. Tomorrow's Grave is one of the darkest tracks here with a muddled instrumental and some of the records most distant vocals. The composition here is really solid and keeps the track fresh through numerous pretty distinct phases. I love the evolving instrumental and the dark meditative guitars that are so central to its progression. This is randomly one of the best tracks here. Favorite Neighbor is also a big highlight with some great keys and a wiry ascending guitar riff both of which I thoroughly enjoy. They do a pretty good job of channeling the snarky attitude of their early days on both the solo verses and group hook. Sounding like it belongs on a 2000's Sleater-Kinney record is about the best compliment I can give it.
Shadow Town is 5 minutes long and I wouldn't consider it having used that length well. There are refrains and instrumental passages here that I enjoy and I certainly wouldn't call the song a waste but I definitely get the point well before its over. To pour salt in the would the long fade out that ends the track feels completely unnecessary. Down The Line may not be one of my favorite songs here but it is a decent deep cut that sees the band appropriately rocking. The group vocal refrains are not my favorite and they come up a lot. Even though they're are rough moments there's also some worthwhile playing and singing at points.
Complex Female Characters is the most lyrically on the nose the band gets in regard to their feminist lyrical themes. I think its actually pretty clever to write from the perspective of a fake woke man who doesn't practice what he preaches. Unfortunately the way it comes out in the songs refrains is unbelievably awkward. The hook is so wordy and sounds so weird and the second half of the song works to even further water down some of its strong lyrical points, so I can leave this one. I'm not sure exactly what the closing track Bring Mercy is about but if you told me it was just a series of slightly nostalgic positivity platitudes and nothing else I'd definitely believe you. Even with the lyrical shortcomings I don't love the instrumental here even as its erupting into the hook is sounds like a tame alt-rock caliber guitar jam. The hook itself has its impactful moments but I wouldn't call it catchy, its the best part of a bad song.
Path Of Wellness is an improvement but the band still has some strides to take before even getting back to No Cities To Love caliber. I think part of this comes from the personality of the band not hitting as consistently as it once did. Frequently on this record their loud and brash feminism almost feels like a parody of their former selves and that lack of genuine sounding performances take the edge off of some of these tracks. Despite that I feel like instrumentally the band are much closer to their prime on this record with catchy guitar riffs and short swift compositions cast all over this record. They do a ton to make these songs flow like one explosive idea after another with few exceptions in some of the longer tracks. Yes the album is far from perfect but the more I listened to it the more I saw what they band were going for and the tracklist started to become clearer to me. Given their history I will be looking out for anything the girls do going forward and I'm hoping this is a positive step towards returning to their greatness sometime soon. 6/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
