Sleater-Kinney: The Legends of Leap
Since Sleater-Kinney co-leader Carrie Brownstein already wrote an incredible book (Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl) and there’s an internet and magazine archives thoroughly detailing the history of Sleater-Kinney, I’ll keep the basics brief. Instead, after said basics are laid out for those Rifflandians lucky enough to be experiencing the almighty Sleater-Kinney for the first time, I want to then shift focus to something that has become a lost art for many music listeners in the internet age; a time of overabundance. Oh, and maybe a bit about how freaking exciting it is that Brownstein, co-founder Corin Tucker, and company are finally coming to Victoria, to my knowledge, for the first time ever in their 30ish year career.
From their Olympia, Washington beginnings in 1994, S-K quickly gained a devoted fanbase and became one of the most buzzed bands in North America. Famed rock critic Greil Marcus once dubbed them “the greatest rock band in America.” To get to this place of praise, they frequently toured their whirlwind live show, supporting a series of increasingly complex, emotionally forthright and frenetic albums. Based on instrumentation alone—two intertwining guitars, clockwork drums, the occasional studio embellishment—the taut tunes of S-K easily engage sans vocals. When you add in Tucker and Brownstein’s unmistakable, powerhouse voices, you begin to fully understand what all the accolades are about.
At the peak of their powers, soon after releasing 2005’s universally loved album, The Woods, S-K announced an indefinite hiatus. Mourning fans didn’t have to wallow too long, as both Brownstein and Tucker dropped fantastic albums with new projects. Brownstein teamed up with S-K drummer Janet Weiss, Helium leader Mary Timony and keyboardist Rebecca Cole as Wild Flag, issuing one of the best albums of the 2010s. Tucker kept doubly busy, releasing two great albums with her eponymous Corin Tucker Band, as well as a few albums with a Pacific Northwest supergroup, Filthy Friends, featuring REM’s Peter Buck, and Young Fresh Fellows Scott McCaughey and Kurt Bloch.
Aside from these musical adventures, Tucker busied herself with a side-career in web development and mothering two children, while Brownstein’s entertainment career took off in another direction altogether. After a few small acting roles in friends’ work, Brownstein teamed up with Fred Armisen to film hilarious video shorts as a duo called ThunderAnt. Eventually, ThunderAnt ideas gave birth to the legendary Portlandia which playfully skewered the series city namesake for eight seasons. (Victoria residents can easily see plentiful PNW similarities between ourselves and this uproarious portrait of Portland.)
Nine years after their disbandment, S-K announced their return in late 2014, eventually releasing the rock solid No Cities To Love in 2015. It’s at this point I want to return to and expand on my introductory mention of the sad reality of short attention spans in the realm of music. NCTL is a stunning album and critics were heaping deserved laurels upon the album, some calling it the best of their career. Despite so much acclaim, talking to a bunch of folks I knew who were big S-K fans in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s, they were either indifferent or many didn’t even know they had returned.
Perhaps it’s the aforementioned overabundance of choice, but when you step back and look at bands who have had long careers, time and time again, too many fans don’t let the band take the lead while we faithfully follow. Instead, listeners move on to whatever new fad has caught on. You’ll often hear the cringe-worthy indie cry of “I liked their earlier stuff better” but having a venerable act return after a hiatus to issue an album as stunning as No Cities only to have it met by much meh, can be disheartening. You can still love Dig Me Out and Call The Doctor with all your younger heartbeats, but understand it’s the very same people in the studio who have matured, evolved, taken risks and crafted something new and challenging.
Thankfully, S-K wasn’t done with No Cities. Four years later, they returned with The Center Won’t Hold, with St. Vincent (Rifflandia 2026, please?!) helping out in the studio. Center saw S-K continuing to push their boundaries and writing some of the most impressive melodies of their career. Once again, reviews were fewer and some were more middling, not necessarily appreciating the leaps taken by the band.
On a roll, the band released two more marvelous albums in quick succession with 2021’s Path Of Wellness and 2024’s Little Rope. Through it all, S-K continued touring with rejigged lineups, welcoming new members and fleshing out their live sound with extra oomph. Old fans and new would be wise to see what Sleater-Kinney 2025 has in store for Rifflandia and you’d be even more wise to join them on their journey to wherever they go next.
-Bill Stuart. Loving husband, cat dad, DJ/record store dude, bakery enthusiast, office lackey and occasional writer Bill Stuart is excited to keep his Rifflandia perfect attendance streak alive this year.