Sleater-Kinney will be releasing Little Rope on January 19 and follow with tour dates in North America running from February 28 through April 5. The 10-track LP (which has Corin Tucker as the main vocalist) comes at a time when Brownstein has addressed the tragedy and grief of losing her mother and stepfather in a 2022 car accident in Italy.
Although Brownstein noted she had worked on material prior to their deaths, she felt it was Tucker who should vocalize the deep heartbreak and the feeling of humans in crisis. As she put it, "it's really raw." Not coincidentally, the nature of the material will be couched in the memories of loved ones lost and need for balance, and as Brownstein states "An exploration of the liminal, of sort of being between two states of, like, you know, joy and grief, or alive and dead, high-low… a precipice, the idea of precarity."
Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein
The single "Hell" is not much a religious tiding, but more of the controlled mayhem that signifies the push and pull of life's directions. Quiet and eruptive with just the right amount of screaming guitar mixed in, Tucker's delivery seesaws from mournful to full-on bitter spittle.
Despite this intonation that carries mixed messages, Sleater-Kinney (a duo since the departure of drummer Janet Weiss in 2019) is full of honest hope. While the large pool of music from Sleater-Kinney has sounded strife with anger and born of the riot grrrl subculture, Brownstein has recently alluded that "We have so many songs that come from a place of strife or anger and then they just start to sound triumphant after a while and that, I think, is the beauty of sharing music with people."
The album was produced by Grammy award-winning producer John Congleton, known for his work with St. Vincent, Death Cab for Cutie and Regina Spektor. The music video starring Miranda July and directed by Ashley Connor showcases and enhances the dichotomy of a woman letting go of her inhibitions and caught in the realization of that harsh reality, for good or bad.
Sleater-Kinney - Hell (Official Music Video)
Little Rope tracklist
Hell
Needlessly Wild
Say It Like You Mean It
Hunt You Down
Small Finds
Don’t Feel Right
Six Mistakes
Crusader
Dress Yourself
Untidy Creature
