Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney so completely embodied their historical moment that only a lengthy break revealed the true reach of their accomplishments, a pattern common among landmark groups. In crucial ways the trio stood as the premier American indie rock act of the later 1990s, seizing the momentum unleashed by the earlier alt-rock surge and directing it toward a forceful artistic declaration. Their status as an all-female lineup was never incidental: before forming the band, co-leaders Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein had each cut their teeth in Northern Pacific riot grrrl outfits, carrying feminism and queercore sensibilities straight into their music, yet labeling them merely the finest female rock band of the period sells their achievement short. By any standard they ranked among the era’s strongest acts, distilling the spirit of their time before quickly broadening their scope through a run of albums that continually reshaped their sound while holding fast to punk and political principles. That sustained run commenced with drummer Janet Weiss’s arrival on 1997’s Dig Me Out and extended through 2005’s The Woods, after which the group announced an “indefinite hiatus” that stretched nearly ten years. During the silence Tucker launched a solo career, Weiss played drums in ex-Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus’s band the Jicks, and Brownstein unexpectedly became a mainstream presence through her starring role on Portlandia, the sketch series she launched with fellow indie veteran Fred Armisen in 2011. The show’s success introduced Brownstein and Sleater-Kinney to a far wider public, so the 2015 return with No Cities to Love reached their biggest audience to date. The album ultimately served as both revival and endpoint; Weiss departed shortly before the August 2019 arrival of the St. Vincent-produced The Center Won't Hold, an adventurous record that Tucker and Brownstein followed with their own productions on 2021’s Path of Wellness and 2024’s Little Rope.

No such broad following seemed imaginable when Tucker and Brownstein first crossed paths in 1992. At the time Tucker performed in Heavens to Betsy while Brownstein played in Excuse 17. Their connection proved durable, briefly romantic yet most importantly catalytic, leading directly to Sleater-Kinney’s formation in 1994. Taking their name from a Lacey, Washington, Interstate 5 interchange, the project began as a side endeavor until an overnight recording session in Melbourne, Australia, with drummer Lora MacFarlane in early 1994 transformed it into a primary commitment. Released a year later on Chainsaw, the label operated by Team Dresch bassist Donna Dresch, the debut earned praise, yet its swiftly issued 1996 follow-up, Call the Doctor, supplied real traction. Bolstered by enthusiastic notices, the album circulated rapidly through the American underground and finished third in the Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop poll. By then Weiss had supplanted MacFarlane, and the band moved to Kill Rock Stars, which issued Dig Me Out in spring 1997. The record traced a comparable path of strong reviews and gradual expansion of their audience.

With Weiss on board, Sleater-Kinney advanced musically at an accelerated pace, a shift already audible on 1999’s The Hot Rock. Darker and less abrasive than its predecessor yet equally intense, the album signaled a sequence of increasingly ambitious releases. All Hands on the Bad One followed in spring 2000, displaying greater command of pop structures and instrumental intricacy. The group retained that textural sophistication while turning explicitly political on 2002’s One Beat, written partly in reaction to the September 11 attacks. Their profile rose further when they opened for Pearl Jam in 2003.

After almost eight years on Kill Rock Stars, Sleater-Kinney switched to Sub Pop for 2005’s The Woods. They also enlisted producer Dave Fridmann, formerly of Mercury Rev and known for his work on the Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin, resulting in their densest, most expansive, and heaviest recording to date. Midway through the subsequent tour the members declared an “indefinite hiatus” once remaining dates concluded.

Weiss resurfaced first, joining Malkmus’s post-Pavement project the Jicks in 2007. Tucker followed with the Corin Tucker Band in 2010. The next year Brownstein unexpectedly partnered with Saturday Night Live alumnus Armisen to create the IFC series Portlandia, whose cult success did more than any prior release to carry the band into mainstream awareness. After the show’s second season Brownstein and Weiss formed Wild Flag with Helium’s Mary Timony. Around the time of that group’s debut, the original trio quietly resumed playing together. Several 2013 shows preceded two years of writing and rehearsal conducted without announcement; the first public sign arrived with a 7-inch of “Bury Our Friends” tucked inside the limited Start Together box set, catching fans off guard. The full reunion and January 2015 release of No Cities to Love were then confirmed, accompanied by an extensive tour whose performances were documented on the January 2017 live album Live in Paris.

Sleater-Kinney resurfaced in May 2019 with the single “Hurry on Home,” heralding their ninth album, The Center Won't Hold. Issued on Mom + Pop that August and produced by St. Vincent, the record appeared just after Weiss’s departure the previous month. Tucker and Brownstein proceeded with both the album and its tour as a duo.

Returning once more in 2021, the pair self-produced Path of Wellness, extending the exploratory direction first charted on The Center Won't Hold. The following year they marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dig Me Out by releasing Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album in October, a tribute featuring reinterpretations of every track from the 1997 album by artists including St. Vincent, Margo Price, Wilco, Courtney Barnett, Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, Low, and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. For 2024’s Little Rope, Brownstein and Tucker enlisted producer John Congleton, balancing the post-punk explorations of recent work with the direct punk energy of their earlier recordings.