Sleater-Kinney is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington in 1994. The band’s lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), and Janet Weiss (drums). Sleater-Kinney was influenced by the underground feminist punk movement Riot grrl that originated in Washington state in the early 1990’s and is a key part of the American indie rock scene. Critics have praised Sleater-Kinney as one of the essential rock groups of the early 2000’s.
Although the band’s lyrics revolved around a variety of different topics, they were included in the riot grrl movement because of the subject matter that supported feminist ideals.
Their sound incorporates personal and social themes along with stripped-down music that was influenced by punk and the free-thinking ideals of 1980s-1990’s alternative and indie rock. Sleater-Kinney have been compared to female singers such as Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Patti Smith.
The band released seven studio albums between 1994 and 2005. They went on hiatus in 2006 devoting themselves to solo projects. Sleater-Kinney reunited in 2014 and released the studio album No Cities to Love in 2015 and Live in Paris in 2017.
Sleater-Kinney derived its name from Sleater Kinney Road in Lacey, Washington where signs for Interstate 5 exit number 108 announce its existence. One of the band’s early practice spaces was near Sleater Kinney Road. The band was formed as a side project when Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein played side gigs together outside of their respective bands. When those bands broke up Sleater-Kinney became their primary focus.
Upon Tucker’s graduation from The Evergreen State College (where Brownstein remained a student for three more years), the now romantic partners took a trip to Australia in early 1994. On their last day there they stayed up all night recording what would become their self-titled debut album which was released the following spring. Two more albums followed 1996’s Call the Doctor and 1997’s Dig Me Out. The albums influences included both classic rock ‘n’ roll and the band’s usual punk predecessors.
The next few albums pushed the band towards mainstream listeners with the group opening for Pearl Jam at many North American shows in 2003. The band cited this experience playing to large arenas as part of the inspiration and motivation for the music found on their seventh album, The Woods. Released in 2005 the album featured a denser, heavily distorted sound that drew on classic rock as its inspiration.
In June 2006 Sleater-Kinney announced an indefinite hiatus with their last show being the 2006 Lollapalooza music festival. No explanation was given for the hiatus. In the succeeding years Sleater-Kinney members pursued solo projects.
In 2015 the band released a new album, No Cities to Love and toured North America and western Europe. In January 2019 the band announced that a new album would appear this year produced by the artist St.Vincent. In May 2019 the band released a new song “Hurry on Home from the album, The Center Won’t Hold.
2021: Sleater-Kinney is back. The Olympia rockers dropped new single “Worry With You,” the band’s first-ever as a duo, and announced new album, Path of Wellness, to follow on June 11. The album, Sleater-Kinney’s tenth, will be the first to be entirely self-produced by the band, and features local Washington musicians in the absence of drummer Janet Weiss, who left the band in 2019. Weiss’s departure came amid a public dustup over Sleater-Kinney’s last album, The Center Won’t Hold, produced by Carrie Brownstein’s close friend Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent. In her first interview after leaving the band, Weiss said she was no longer “a creative equal in the band.”
Little Rope streeted in November, 2023. Says t he band: “We are so excited to share “Say It Like You Mean It,” a track from Little Rope that is very close to our hearts. Thank you J. Smith-Cameron for her astounding performance in the video; she truly captured the desperation and ache in the song. We’re grateful she trusted us to lead her outside her comfort zone and into the world of music videos! J. was a joy to work with and to spend time with in Portland.”
Reference – http://www.sleater-kinney.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleater-Kinney
Sleater Kinney discography
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM plays Sleater-Kinney. All part of 50 years of Rock, Blues and More, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN/