Sleater-Kinney Announce Little Rope Deluxe LP, Share New Single “This Time”
The expanded version of Little Rope arrives on November 1, which includes their smoldering new song "This Time" and the previously released Frayed Rope Sessions.
Photo by Zhamak FulladSleater-Kinney don’t do things by halves. Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein released their 11th album Little Rope in January of this year—righting their musical ship after the ill-received Path of Wellness—and on November 1 they’re sharing Little Rope Deluxe via Loma Vista Recordings (with physical copies available on January 31, 2025). Beyond the original album tracks, Little Rope Deluxe adds the Frayed Rope Sessions—live versions of the songs recorded at Melbourne’s historic Forum Theatre and released back in March—plus three new tracks, including the September single “Here Today.”
Sleater-Kinney’s announcement comes with a brand new song: the smoldering rock number “This Time.” A few ponderously plunked keys at the beginning of the song feel like a misdirection, with jagged momentum soon brewing underneath. Brownstein sings from the perspective of someone who can’t accept the dire straits they’re in: “If you keep catching me then I’ll keep fallin’ / Holdin’ me so tight you think I won’t hit bottom.” Tucker’s rich voice joins hers on the chorus over emphatic drums, reminding us that this “broken baby” isn’t ready to admit defeat yet. And in classic Sleater-Kinney style, the “This Time” descends into energetic, headbanging guitar riffs; we are so back.
“‘This Time’ was the last song we wrote for the record and the last to get cut once we decided we preferred the evenness and succinctness of ten songs. About a person reaching the limits of denial, ‘This Time’ exists on the thematic edges of Little Rope, an album wrestling with loss and its aftermath,” Sleater-Kinney say of the new single.
For our January cover story, Matt Mitchell spoke with Sleater-Kinney about Little Rope, a record marked by the tragic deaths of Brownstein’s mother and step-dad. Brownstein said of Sleater-Kinney’s music, and specifically playing guitar: “It’s my way of expressing myself, and I think there’s always something in that, playing with Corin and the way that my guitar and her voice go together, that feels like something essential and sacred in Sleater-Kinney.” Read the full story here.
Listen to “This Time” by Sleater-Kinney below.