Sleater-Kinney - One Beat

  by Cara Ross

published: 2 / 9 / 2002

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This is the sixth album from indie darlings Sleater Kinney, and it is great. No question. Recorded mostly at Jackpot ! studios in Portland ,Oregon (some of the tracks were recorded in drummer Janet Weiss’ home studio), 'One Beat' brings to us a post 9-11 Sleater Kinney. I was beginning to wonder when I would see the impact of last yea'rs events start to surface musically (apart of course from all of the general Hollywood drama and fund raisers, etc.) and was actually kind of surprised to find it here. But then Sleater Kinney, lyrically, are very much interested in expressing what’s presently on their minds, and always have been. This album really is kind of is all over the place. In some ways it their most political album to date. Anti-war sentiments can be found on 'Combat Rock', which lambastis President Bush: “Show your love for your country/ go out and spend some cash/ red white blue hot pants doing it for Uncle Sam“ .'Far Away' somberly conjuries up images of turning on the TV on September 11th, while ''Step Aside' , is essentially a call for peace and love. All this aside, the album is also interspersed with some more classic SK themes. There are tracks, as always, about misunderstood and misrepresented women, and a really great fun almost Ronettes-esque love song in ''Oh!'. It also has a few musical additions not normally seen on a SK record...moog synthesizers, a horn section, as well as the instrument-du-jour these days, the theremin. The album finishes with a fairly serious blues number...hence the record being kind of all over the place. But throughout all, it’s tastefully, and appropriately done. There is still at times the tendency towards the melodramatic, with a few corny, sometimes pretentious lyrics thrown in...particulary on the title track, but its sentiment remains, and it still seems to work. It is often said that Sleater Kinney are an “acquired” taste. The vocal stylings on this album sometimes seems too intense, and it takes a couple of listens before this album really starts to grab you. Once it does though, it’s impossible to shake, and you would really be doing yourself a disservice if you dismissed it on first listen. Sleater Kinney are extremely energetic and talented musicians, and this is an explosive album. Where that energy comes from by their now sixth album probably has everything to do with their familiarity and comfort with one another. They are completely in synch, and that confidence in their abilities grows with every release.

Track Listing:-

1 One Beat
2 Far Away
3 Oh
4 The Remainder
5 Light Rail Coyote
6 Step Aside
7 Combat Rock
8 O2
9 Funeral Song
10 Prisstina
11 Hollywood Ending
12 Sympathy

Band Links:-

https://www.sleater-kinney.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SleaterKinney

Label Links:-

http://www.killrockstars.com/
https://www.facebook.com/killrockstarsofficial
https://twitter.com/killrockstars
https://www.youtube.com/user/KillRockStars
http://killrockstars.bandcamp.com/

Have a Listen:-

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