Sleater-Kinney new Album "The Center Won't Hold"

Tracklist is out.. album cover is amazing... release August 16th... new song shared: Sleater-Kinney Announce St. Vincent-Produced Album The Center Won’t Hold, Share New Song: Listen | Pitchfork

 

What does everyone think of the new single The Future Is Here? I didn't like Hurry On Home and this isn't doing much for me either.

 

Yeah, not good. 0 for 2 so far. I guess this will end up being a "listen before buying" situation, and I never thought that would be the case with this band.

 

Wow, that is terrible and the worst thing they've done. How disappointing.

I appreciate that they're doing something different, but in this case it's a step backwards.

Oh well.

 

Neither of these singles sound much like Sleater-Kinney as we've come to know them. Good for them, they're going what they want. Bad for those of us who really, really liked what they were.

That being said, already pre-ordered and looking forward to the tour.

 

That video won't play for me up above so here it is again, sorry if that clogs the thread. It's growing on me after a couple of listens, but it sure didn't sound like Sleater-Kinney at first!



Have you seen the pre order bundles? $250 for the LP + 7" box set = WHAT??

 

The Future is Here is...interesting. I find myself thinking it's cool to hear S-K going in a new direction, but then asking myself: If I didn't know this was S-K, would I skip right by this song? And I think the answer might be yes, unfortunately.

 

ok, "the future is here" is pretty tedious. first impression is the production doesn't fit.

i've always loved this band, but i'll be the first to admit that sometimes their lyrics make me roll my eyes. instead of getting mixed in with some great rock & roll, they're now placed front and center by sparse space age synths. yikes. i actually love synth but i don't think this works.

 

It's funny because I've only listened to a track here and there over the years by them, and I was never impressed enough to listen further. As a St. Vincent fan I decided to give these a listen and I really like them. I guess that's a gamble for them to lose some fans and gain some others... Or maybe it's just an album detour and they'll return to their regular sound in the future.

 

I actually dig “The Future Is Here” quite a bit. It’s different for sure but I think the band is reaching for something. Here’s Carrie talking about the The Center Won’t Hold on NPR (quoted in Pitchfork’s album announcement article):

“We always planned on getting back in the studio—it was just a matter of when,” Carrie Brownstein told NPR earlier this year when she confirmed Annie Clark’s involvement in the new record. “If there is an overarching principle to this album, it's that the tools on which we were relying proved inadequate. So we sought new ones, both metaphorically and literally.”

 

Plus a signed poster...still expensive but if it's real sigs and not reproductions that's pretty cool...of course I love them and have been a big fan since I heard Dig Me Out for the first time.

 

tickets for shows are a bit pricey. especially since it was $7 to see them in 1997.

 

Apparently they were lining up Jeff Tweedy to produce some songs, but decided to go with St Vincent for the entire album

The death and rebirth of Sleater-Kinney

 

That article makes it sound like there are a LOT of Brownstein-sung songs on this album.

Oof.

 

I’d be interested to hear any guitar rock band go in a “new direction” other than eventually swapping their guitars out for synths. Seems like a move that nearly everyone makes sooner or later. Having said, I don’t think The Future Is Here is terrible, although I hope Peter Hook gets royalties for the bass line. I see a 9.0 Pitchfork review and maybe even a breakthrough into what’s left of the mainstream for this record, because this is a new direction that will play well for a lot of listeners, I suspect.

 

Ha! Yeah, Peter Hook should get credit and money for a LOT of bass lines out there. I agree about the response--I think the combination of S-K and Annie Clark cool factors will be heralded as daring and ground-breaking.

 

Ugh Jeff Tweedy... thank god that didn’t happen!

 

I don't dig either of the new songs at all. Sleater-Kinney were one of my favorite bands when I was in high school, but I haven't connected with their post hiatus work. I'm actually not a St. Vincent fan outside of a couple of songs so my excitement was already deflated when I heard she was producing everything. And--yeah, fewer guitars and less Corin equals very little interest from me.

 

i love st. vincent, but i don't like SK sounding like st. vincent.

 

The second single is pretty weak.. it never really takes off.. and IMO deflates when the "nah, nah, nah" part comes in.... I hope that this song improves in the context of the whole record.

 

they've been annie'd

just like the last few st. vincent albums, this is pretty, but pretty boring

 

Doesn't sound like them however many time you play it. But....I like it. No Cities felt like them doing the old thing without the same intensity; this is very different and feels fresher.

 

I watched their Fallon appearance last night and had the same thought. Especially with the robotic hand motions and stuff...like, "Is this a new character?" Some kind of comedy/rock dissonance going on now that's unfortunate.

 

I wasn't thrilled with the Fallon appearance.

It also looks like they now have a 5th person.....(in addition to Katie Harkin).......to play keyboards.

 

I really don’t think St. Vincent was the right fit for them