Sleater-Kinney - The Woods

The Woods is more aggressive than anything Sleater-Kinney has previously released, but the musical recipe that works so well for Janet Weiss, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein—Hendrix-style guitar solos, experimental interplay and flat-out noise—remains intact. Album opener “The Fox” uses overdriven, pounding guitars and panoramic drums in what turns out to be a simple children’s parable. In “What’s Mine Is Yours,” two call-and-response chords move into a sped-up blues number—until suddenly the band cuts out and Brownstein begins a ’70s-rock-inspired guitar solo, replete with feedback and fuzz. While the sarcastic ballad “Modern Girl” might break the album’s cohesive rock vibe, the six-minute jam bridging “Let’s Call It Love” and “Night Light” more than makes up for it. The trio delights in creating songs just to tear them down and rebuild them again in a different way, giving the album a dissonant, experimental edge.