[Photo: Nikko LaMere]
Back as a two-piece, Sleater-Kinney continue to surprise, their music still invigorating. If 2019's much-maligned The Center Won't Hold, was a few strong singles in search of a record, the new one, Path of Wellness, is a good deal more cohesive. That's its achieved that cohesion by allowing the duo to experiment with other styles, and produce themselves says a lot about choices made in 2019, I suppose.
If Carrie Brownstein practically coos "High in the Grass", a real gem here, there's still fire and spark behind the beauty. Stylistically, this one is less jagged than earlier cuts, obviously, and not as slick as anything from the St. Vincent-produced last studio album. This composition and the catchy, pandemic-inspired "Worry with You" are timely and effective. Corin Tucker and Brownstein sound energerized here, content to let the rough edges of compositions remain. Not for nothing does the spindly "Worry with You" sound a bit like Ex Hex, a band featuring Brownstein's Wild Flag partner, Mary Timony. Still, those expecting Wild Flag II are likely to be as frustrated with this as they were with the last SK record.
Not everything here works for me, with some selections ("Method", "Shadow Town") sounding a bit aimless in stylistic terms. There's nuance, yes, but not enough punch, frankly. And while Sleater-Kinney are making good tunes, they are (at times here, at least), making the kind of things others are already making, more than they are breaking new ground. Still, "Favorite Neighbor" works up a furious head of steam, and "Bring Mercy" shows a capability at making a new style work. What this means is that if Path of Wellness is "better" than The Center Won't Hold, it's still just as much of an outlier from anything this group recorded prior to 2019. Edging a bit back into clearly punk-inspired forms, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker sound more at ease here, less in thrall to another's vision, maybe. And that's great. Path of Wellness sounds like both a refutation of the last record, and an indication of something new on the horizon.
Path of Wellness is out now via Mom+Pop Music.
More details on Sleater-Kinney via the official website.