Sleater-Kinney Look Back, Move Forward with Remastered Box Set and New Album

I thought this week couldn’t get any better. We already knew that tomorrow would see the release of Sleater-Kinney’s 7XLP box set of all their albums plus a 44 page hardcover book. Now we also know that the trio of Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, who have been on indefinite hiatus since 2006, will release a new album, No Cities to Love, on Jan. 20 on Sub Pop and go on a 13 date tour shortly thereafter.

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I’m not usually one to give myself a “fanboy” moniker but if we’re going all the way back to something I’ve loved since I was a baby dyke I’m going to go ahead and call myself obsessed. This most certainly applies to Sleater-Kinney as the epitome of Pacific Northwest lady rockers, and one of my absolute musical queer roots. From the very beginning, like this 1996 video by Emily Kingan (of The Lovers) about the SPRGRL Conspiracy Convention where I nearly passed out from joy at sharing a stage with SK (yes that’s my first band, Bonanza Jellybean, in part 2 at about 4:30), to their very last two Portland shows in the last days of Portland Summer 2006, I was a true fan. Now with so much news, it’s hard to know where to look first.

All seven Sleater-Kinney albums have been remastered and will be released in a picture disc box set tomorrow Tuesday October 21st, 2014.

All seven Sleater-Kinney albums have been remastered and will be released in a picture disc box set tomorrow Tuesday October 21st, 2014.

Tomorrow packages will be delivered to doorsteps featuring a beautifully colorful look back almost two decades into SK’s music. A rainbow of remastered records accompanying a book of memories and photos divided by album era takes us back to the ultra-raw self-titled release, through the big breaks of their next two albums with gems such as Call the Doctor‘s “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone” to finish on the the deep and polished sounds of The Woods’ “Jumpers.” In the book’s intro, Weiss recounts her beginnings with the band, which remind me very much of my own first memories of hearing them live.

Out of the blue Corin called me at work to say that Sleater-Kinney was looking for a drummer. We had all met a few days earlier at a show our bands played together upstairs at La Luna. She had recently moved to Portland so the three of us connected at her home in NE and went down into the practice space. Carrie was wearing black converse. They said they had been working on a new song and wondered if I might try putting drums on it. It was called “Dig Me Out.”

…The first time I heard Sleater-Kinney I clearly remember thinking to myself “I could be in this band.” Desparate and tough, this was music that meant something, that mattered.

It did matter.

It mattered enough that as I listened to the seven remastered albums I also desperately searched through old pictures and seven inches to see what other tracks I could find. But looking back can also mean looking forward.

The new 7" single for "Bury Our Friends" (above) and early singles from a Free To Fight project as well as an early Miranda July release.

The new 7″ single for “Bury Our Friends” (above) and early singles from a Free To Fight project as well as an early Miranda July release (below).

A new seven inch was also included in the box set mysteriously labeled as 1/20/15 and speculation began last Friday that this new song might imply a new album. That was confirmed this morning when “Bury Our Friends” was released as a lyric video featuring filmmaker and performance artist Miranda July. It’s a perfect bridge from old to new, with July as another symbol of feminist art from 1990s Portland growing into a new millennial sensibility.

Sleater-Kinney has always been about raw rock’n’roll realness and empowerment, unapologetically shredding guitar licks, and they need to keep this level of intensity for any return. But, though they have returned to an earlier songwriting process, they had no interest in moving backward by revisiting sounds and styles and paths already trod. In a letter to NPR Brownstein writes,

Sleater-Kinney isn’t something you can do half-assed or half-heartedly. We have to really want it. And you have to feed that hunger and have the energy to. I’m not saying we need to be in a dark place to be in Sleater-Kinney. In fact, we could be in the best places in our lives. But we have to be willing to push, because the entity that is this band will push right back…

..I think we had to go back to an earlier model of writing in order to reacquaint ourselves with the language of the band. It’s a sonic vernacular that isn’t easily translated into other contexts in which we’ve played. This was a very deliberate writing process, there were many edits and iterations of the songs. We thought a lot about melody and structure.

Collage of photos from the box set's accompanying book, "Call the Doctor" era.

Collage of photos from the box set’s accompanying book, “Call the Doctor” era.

So what will this new grown-up Sleater-Kinney sound like? I expect a certain amount of personal remastering certainly, but also a return to commitment, to being women who unabashedly thrash with anger or happiness and most importantly, a message, through these more polished licks.

Their tour begins in Spokane, Washington this coming February shortly after No Cities To Love release. Oddly, the international schedule includes no Seattle, Olympia or Portland shows (sadly no West coast shows at all). This lack of hometown celebration seems a pretty big oversight, but I am guessing that the Northwest might just be treated to some rough and underground re-introductions to be announced last minute. So you might start thinking about planning a trip in late January, which is normally not something I would ever recommend. Only Sleater-Kinney could warm these rainy winter streets and drive our sodden hearts into a hot rock reuniting frenzy. Excited? You bet I am.

You can pre-order No Cities to Love here and download a copy of “Bury Our Friends” at this link. Track list and tour dates are below and at sleater-kinney.com.

No Cities To Love Track List:

1. Price Tag
2. Fangless
3. Surface Envy
4. No Cities To Love
5. A New Wave
6. No Anthems
7. Gimme Love
8. Bury Our Friends
9. Hey Darling
10. Fade

2015 Tour Dates:

02-08-15 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
02-09-15 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
02-10-15 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
02-12-15 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
02-13-15 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
02-14-15 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
02-15-15 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
02-17-15 Chicago, IL @ Riviera
02-22-15 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
02-24-15 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
02-26-15 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
02-28-15 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
03-01-15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
03-18-15 Berlin, Germany @ Postbahnhof
03-19-15 Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Paradiso
03-20-15 Paris, France @ Cigale
03-21-15 Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix
03-23-15 London, UK @ Roundhouse
03-24-15 Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
03-25-15 Glasgow, UK @ O2 ABC
03-26-15 Dublin, Ireland @ Vicar Street

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Alley Hector

Alley Hector is a writer and Web Developer based in Portland, Oregon where she has lived since the dawn of queer time. Past projects have included editing Just Out magazine and founding and editing local queer news and events blog qPDX.com. When she's not pursuing nerdy hobbies you can find her enjoying a microbrew at a vintage arcade or running around town on her little 80s Bridgestone road bike. Get in touch with Alley on Twitter or Instagram.

Alley has written 19 articles for us.

21 Comments

  1. #internalscreaming

    I’m planning on going to the Omaha and Minneapolis shows. Also planning on trying not to puke from excitement.

    They were my first college concert–it was The Woods tour, and freaking Gossip opened. My little baby queer heart was forever changed that night.

  2. Super excited about the news, but then I saw that no L.A. show is listed on their tour roster. I hope this changes soon.

    • I do find it terribly strange that they are playing Spokane, Idaho and SLC while not playing Seattle, Oly, PDX, SF or LA. It almost seems like a joke, like a Portlandia skit or something…that I almost think it is? Or, they’ll announce special west coast dates later? I dunno but I’m pretty confused by it myself. If I can find out any inside info I’ll keep all us west coasters updated.

      • I saw someone posted a picture of the Hollywood Palladium marquee as some sort of “clue” on FB and I hope that it means the will play there because that is one of my favorite venues.

        Someone also pointed out that there’s no tour date for SoCal because they might play Coachella, which I hope is not true.

  3. I am crying with joy, now, the way I cried out of sadness when Sleater-Kinney broke up before I ever got to see them live. This is wonderful.

  4. Ordered a box set after hearing the new! Fan girled out a bit after hearing! Wish they were coming to Texas. I hate it here but I am stuck for a few more months.

  5. Sleater-Kinney is my favorite band of all time. I am now counting down the days til January 20th.

  6. My wife Carrie Brownstein is so talented and I’m trying to ignore how intense she gets when she and Corin write songs together.

  7. omg omg omg I was crying in my bed last night just listening to Sleater-Kinney and I’m seriously considering saving up all my money to buy a train ticket from Memphis to Chicago and I just never thought that I would be lucky enough to even have the chance of considering going to see this band that changed my life for the better.

  8. It’s been so long! I’m so excited by this! The first song I learned to play on guitar was “A Quarter To Three”. I have so many of Carrie’s riffs just embedded in my musical DNA.

  9. Damn what I missed listening to monster themed music, Rammstein, dark electronica
    and classic rock exclusively for my teen years.
    Only got to Bikini Kill like 3 years ago, but it’s okay the Tribe 8 songs that some dear soul uploaded to youtube in early days and L7 tided me over okay.

    Glad to get to know of Sleater-Kinney at least at some point of my life. :P

    • I also have some good memories and 7 inches from those Tribe 8 and L7. They were a trip to see live. Ever read Lynn Breedlove’s book Godspeed?

  10. Did anyone get tickets? It was like they sold out almost instantly and the site crashed. I’m sad.

  11. Cannot contain my excitement! All the pre-sale tickets are gone, but I’m ready to click when they go up. ^.^!

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