Variation On a Theme: Sleater-Kinney interview

Little Rope was made against a backdrop of personal grief for the band, resulting in one of their most intimate offerings from the past 30 years. It features subtle, intricate arrangements along with the typically electrifying riffs and bombast the band are best known for. Released back in January, the dust has settled on the album and they've been road-testing the material for a couple of months already. “Little Rope has landed really hard for people,” says Corin Tucker. “People have responded pretty viscerally; it's a raw, intense album. They've shared their own stories with us, of grief, of burdens from the past few years. Hopefully the goal with music is being able to give people a space to work things out and let things go.”

The band's current tour unsurprisingly features the bulk of Little Rope, though 2021's Path of Wellness has been jettisoned almost completely. Creating a cohesive set with eleven albums and change to choose from can't be easy, but despite its occasionally challenging themes, it seems like the new album will feature for some time to come.

“It slots well into the lineage of Sleater-Kinney,” says Carrie Brownstein. “Some albums are kind of anomalies. The Hot Rock, for instance, was always tricky to translate into a live setting. Path of Wellness has an insular/introverted quality to it that's difficult to combine with the current iteration of our setlist. That introversion, there's a meditative quality when you listen on your own, but we have a hard time conveying that quietness/subtlety live because we're always drawn to the bombastic ones.”

“We work through a lot of feelings onstage,” Tucker adds. “It is work. But you're not going through it alone. The audience always wants that catharsis. You're going to difficult places, but the audience wants to go with you and you come out changed on the other side. That's the goal of a great live show.”

Due to the influence and impact they've had, much that's written about Sleater-Kinney contrasts the first period (1994-2006) with the second (2014-present). Condescending phrases like “return to form” or back-handed compliments like “surprisingly strong late-career album” abound, with little assessment of a new project's standalone merits. Brownstein agrees that “all of the late-period albums are being assessed within the larger context of the band... obviously it's hard to avoid the sense of comparison. But we don't approach the songwriting that way, using the 90s as the fulcrum from which to deviate. We're bringing our present selves to the process."

Brownstein continues: "There's no version of 2015 Sleater-Kinney had it not been for the 1997 version, so it's hard to know how we'd be perceived... But I remember when Monster came out, and I read that Michael Stipe said that if R.E.M. had been a new band then this would've been a huge album. At the time I didn't understand wanting people to assess a mid or late period album with the same fervour/naïvety/openness that they do with an earlier album. But now I understand that feeling. You can't separate, but you might wish you could put out a version of No Cities to Love or Little Rope as an opening statement.

"But for us as progenitors, it does feel like a new variation on a theme, a new beginning, but for most it's not. However, one of the most rewarding aspects of putting out this album was that when we did record store signings around the release there was a lot of young fans, or older fans who'd just discovered us. It's nice to remember that for certain people this is the entry point to the band. So you want it to be as invigorating/eye-opening for them as it was for the people introduced to Sleater-Kinney through Dig Me Out [in 1997].”

Though it might seem like the legacy of 30 years would weigh heavy, Tucker doesn't feel like the baggage is anything to hold them back: “We write for someone who's never heard the band. We try not to alienate... it's really about making something that excites us first and foremost. I think we've really felt that, especially in response to Little Rope. It feels like people more than ever relate to the ideas and stories we're telling. They want to hear from our perspective what it's like having been in a female band for 30 years and going through all these stages. I don't feel like the legacy is a burden, but something that lifts people up, the fact we're still doing it. Maybe they see a map for themselves that maybe they wouldn't see with other mainstream acts.”

The political and the personal have always been interwoven in the music of the Sleater-Kinney, and although the scales may have shifted away from their overtly political early material, it still runs through their newest music and is inseparable from the band's identity. However, despite the critical renown and mass crowds they command, Tucker and Brownstein still see themselves as outsiders compared to the acts whose music is likely to be co-opted.

“There's an ongoing dialogue we're willing to be part of," says Brownstein, "but no political parties/companies that misalign with our ideologies have used Sleater-Kinney's music... probably because our music is not really fit for mass consumptions," she laughs. "Not everyone finds our music palatable, we're a bit niche. [We have] a feistiness, an irascibility, a more rarified listen. We haven't had to prescribe who can or can't use our music officially. But unofficially, it's obviously for everyone. Art can have strong opinions, the art can be explicit in its beliefs/ideologies, but who it's there for is hard to dictate. Ideally, art helps move the needle. It becomes part of the progress, part of changing hearts and mind, shifting the narrative towards something more inclusive, so you don't want to close off that possibility at the onset.”

And nowhere can these political concerns be more keenly felt than in 2024 USA. The band's longtime home of Portland, Oregon can sometimes be held on a pedestal as a progressive safe haven, but the divided nature of the country is easy to see for those venturing beyond the comfortable walls of one's own locale. “There are pockets of progressivism, like in our corner of Portland," Tucker concedes, "but if you drive 20 minutes you'll be in a very different political-affiliated area that feels forgotten by the progress, the money, the resources that big cities have. A lot of rural Oregon feels forgotten, resentful... It's very tense here.”

Politics aside, on the UK leg of their upcoming tour, Sleater-Kinney will be joined by the legendary Gina Birch of The Raincoats. With clear admiration, Brownstein remembers how "those early Raincoats albums were some of the hardest to track down, they felt like the holy grail records you're always on the hunt for (before reissues became ubiquitous). Raincoats always held a mythology for us, a certain specialness. We've admired Gina as a visual artist, an activist, an ally for a long time. We love her newest album and its distinct voice, both literally her singing voice and in terms of perspective; it was a natural fit to get her on board for these shows.”

And although this show will only be the third in Scotland post-Sleater-Kinney reunion, the band have plenty of experience playing here from their earlier phase, with numerous visits to The 13th Note and King Tut's along the way. “We've always felt an affinity with Scotland, particularly Glasgow," Brownstein comments wistfully, and is quick to acknowledge the loveliness of Edinburgh as well. "There's always been an analogue between Glasgow and Olympia [Washington]. Bands like The Pastels had a relationship with the Olympia record labels, and it was almost a predetermination to feel a kinship with Glasgow.

"Then in our era there was Bis, Yummy Fur, Belle & Sebastian," she says, "bands that we connected with early on, and it was nice to feel like we were part of a broader community despite living so far from each other. There were so many incidences where we'd go to Scotland with the excitement and enthusiasm to reconnect with friends, which is not necessarily the case with other far-flung countries. It felt like we were returning to a place familiar and welcoming. That instilled in us a real affection and warmth towards the country. It makes it quite unique compared to some countries we visit.”

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Little Rope is out now on Loma Vista; Sleater-Kinney play SWG3 TV Studio, Glasgow, 27 Aug