Partway through the recording of
Little Rope
,
Sleater-Kinney
's second album in the wake of the 2019 departure of drummer
Janet Weiss
Carrie Brownstein
received word that her mother and stepfather had died in a car accident in Italy.
is shaped by that tragedy not in content -- much of the record had already been composed -- but in execution. Aided by longtime friend and bandmate
Corin Tucker
Brownstein
finds solace within the creation of music, fusing the group's recent post-punk explorations with the urgency of their punk beginnings. The focus of
is bracing, particularly as it arrives after a pair of exploratory albums where
and
Tucker
searched on how to usher
into middle age. Those lessons are absorbed, not discarded; compared to the flinty records
made in the 1990s, there's an expanded aural palette, one that sounds vibrant on both the fringes and at its pulsating heart. Guitars remain central to
's vision, yet they don't necessarily provide the focus. Instead,
coheres around songs and expression, the two halves of
finding sustenance in the creation of music. Sadness lurks upon the edges of the record, as does rage, but
ultimately feels cathartic: by processing
's loss and dwelling upon their shared bonds,
once again feels united and purposeful. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine