I know, I read it!
First quote - One of the songs is "affectionate." It has a "bright throwback vibe" and "there's also a turn toward anthemic fury." This is what I was talking about - that could be describing a million different things.
Second quote - Some general comments on lyrics. The music is "corrosive."
Third quote - More adjectives on that same point - "disgusting, dirty, gross, dusty." "Choruses and bridges were revised; major keys were introduced" - This tells me very, very little.
Fourth quote - Music that is not a screaming match, buoys people, "a chorus they could sing together." Could also be describing a million different things.
― timellison, Wednesday, 7 August 2019 06:43 (four years ago) link
the writer forgot to write about the music!
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Wednesday, 7 August 2019 06:48 (four years ago) link
Yes, that is what I said and that is what I am still saying.
― timellison, Wednesday, 7 August 2019 06:52 (four years ago) link
I only read it once because of the pay wall, but didn't it say Clark pressured the band to deviate from minor keys to major keys? Or something like that?
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 7 August 2019 14:05 (four years ago) link
xpost oh, there it is, sorry
It's an interview rather than a review, though, so... what's the problem? Most record reviews I read don't actually describe what the music sounds like anymore than a few adjectives. In fact to even mention major keys is practically musicology!
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 9 August 2019 12:50 (four years ago) link
It would be funny if people wrote profiles the way many write record reviews, by constantly comparing the personalities of the band members to other people.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 9 August 2019 13:14 (four years ago) link
I dunno, people tend to disagree with me on this. My perspective is that the reason why there's a feature being written is because they are musicians, so I wonder why the art itself - the reason why we're talking about these people - tends to be such a minor thing of interest.
― timellison, Friday, 9 August 2019 17:23 (four years ago) link
is there a piece you would cite that "talks about the music" to a satisfactory extent for you?
― call all destroyer, Friday, 9 August 2019 17:27 (four years ago) link
Why does "talks about the music" need to be in quotes? We know what talking about the music means.
― timellison, Friday, 9 August 2019 17:32 (four years ago) link
do we tim
do we
― j., Friday, 9 August 2019 17:34 (four years ago) link
Yes, it's when we identify the time and key signatures and discussion the means of modulation, etc. j/k
― timellison, Friday, 9 August 2019 17:35 (four years ago) link
There's a Song Exploder episode now if people want to nitpick St Vincent's producing decisions some more
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 9 August 2019 17:38 (four years ago) link
most times I feel lucky if there's even a description of the instrumentation/arrangements used
― Οὖτις, Friday, 9 August 2019 17:39 (four years ago) link
Yikes
pic.twitter.com/bRgHulyArq— Janet Weiss (@jazzzhand) August 14, 2019
― frustration and wonky passion (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 14 August 2019 13:17 (four years ago) link
and I was about to post: the album is pretty good, different sonically obv.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 14 August 2019 13:25 (four years ago) link
damn can’t believe st vincent tried to assassinate janet weiss
― (Appears only as a corpse) (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 14 August 2019 13:31 (four years ago) link
Weiss knew they were going in a new direction, she should have been more careful.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 14 August 2019 13:54 (four years ago) link
who had access to the navigation system and when did they have it?!?!?
― j., Wednesday, 14 August 2019 13:55 (four years ago) link
oh man poor janet :( that sucks
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 14 August 2019 14:51 (four years ago) link
Thank God she's OK and will be able to drum!
Damn
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 14 August 2019 16:28 (four years ago) link
― (Appears only as a corpse) (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, August 14, 2019 9:31 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
irl lol, thanks for that.
― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Wednesday, 14 August 2019 18:23 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fSXmrVJkeM
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Thursday, 15 August 2019 00:07 (four years ago) link
The new album is great imo, first listen through and enjoyed it mucho.
― Piano Mouth, Thursday, 15 August 2019 01:27 (four years ago) link
She went to a Depeche Mode show and got absorbed by synths; Clark and Brownstein saw Nine Inch Nails, and heard industrial.
Hoping it doesn't sound like this
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 15 August 2019 04:38 (four years ago) link
The first song begins with a drone that reminded me of Some Great Reward.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 August 2019 11:00 (four years ago) link
https://www.stereogum.com/2054809/sleater-kinney-the-center-wont-hold-review/franchises/premature-evaluation/
― flappy bird, Thursday, 15 August 2019 18:12 (four years ago) link
breihan struggling with a record is a pretty sure sign i'll like it and think he's a wiener, reliable as the sunrise
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 15 August 2019 18:24 (four years ago) link
I have many thoughts which I hope to see published tomorrow.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 August 2019 18:26 (four years ago) link
by sunrise???
― j., Thursday, 15 August 2019 18:41 (four years ago) link
good morning!
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 15 August 2019 18:46 (four years ago) link
where's those tax returns st vincent??!?!1!!!
― j., Thursday, 15 August 2019 18:49 (four years ago) link
reach out is totally what i want from s-k doing depeche, great song
― devvvine, Thursday, 15 August 2019 20:35 (four years ago) link
and restless! always like when they wear their go betweens influence proudly
― devvvine, Thursday, 15 August 2019 20:42 (four years ago) link
This album is great
― akm, Friday, 16 August 2019 05:50 (four years ago) link
"reach out" is so sick
― american bradass (BradNelson), Friday, 16 August 2019 15:57 (four years ago) link
i pretty immediately like this way more than no cities. love what they did here
― american bradass (BradNelson), Friday, 16 August 2019 16:08 (four years ago) link
A bit too much of this reminds me of the harsh, plodding sound of The Woods (my least favourite S-K record) but "Reach Out," "LOVE" and "The Dog/The Body" are immediate standouts. I can really hear St. Vincent on the latter.
― Herman Woke (cryptosicko), Friday, 16 August 2019 16:17 (four years ago) link
gonna go buy this now :)
― geoffreyess, Friday, 16 August 2019 17:24 (four years ago) link
This is really good at first pass
― omar little, Friday, 16 August 2019 17:33 (four years ago) link
I like it, it's obviously not the greatest-ever SK album, but it's a good SK album in 2019, which I'm glad to have. What Annie Clark does for them, productionwise, reminds me most immediately of what Flood did for PJ Harvey -- provides a new sonic landscape for songs and ideas that still basically sound like Sleater-Kinney songs and ideas, but also the landscape itself helps shape the songs in ways that they wouldn't have found without it.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 16 August 2019 17:48 (four years ago) link
Having a *Name That Tune* fail on the beginning on the chorus in "Can I Go On." Wish I could put my finger on the song that reminds me of.
― timellison, Friday, 16 August 2019 18:06 (four years ago) link
It's a better album than NCTL, which, for obvious reasons, played it safe.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 16 August 2019 18:40 (four years ago) link
It was probably a good idea to have a producer inject some creative decisions this time. A friend of mine did NCTL and he’s a great engineer and a great guy but he’d never dream of doing that with this band (and I’m sure they didn’t ask), which I’m sure is why that album sounds safe.
― akm, Friday, 16 August 2019 19:21 (four years ago) link
― timellison, Friday, August 16, 2019 2:06 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
Hmm I don't know and this is unrelated but my first impression of that song is that overall the tempo is just a little too slow?
― Evan, Friday, 16 August 2019 19:43 (four years ago) link
Bad Dance intro sounds like Passtime Paradise.
― ☮ (peace, man), Friday, 16 August 2019 20:14 (four years ago) link
Carrie sounds like she's singing "Bat Dance" on "Bad Dance."
First impression is that it's... fine. Don't really care about any of the songs until "RUINS," then there are a couple of good ones. It's not bad just mostly who cares - way more than the supposed St. Vincent influence (I only hear that on "Can I Go On") it sounds like an album where the two songwriters weren't in the same room while they wrote. Corin sounds fantastic on the songs where she takes the lead like "The Future Is Here."
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Saturday, 17 August 2019 02:19 (four years ago) link
haven't heard the album yet, heard "LOVE" on the radio today, before the singing came in I got a Sprockets flashback
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 17 August 2019 02:21 (four years ago) link
Sprockets then into B-52s, it's awesome
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Saturday, 17 August 2019 02:27 (four years ago) link
way more than the supposed St. Vincent influence (I only hear that on "Can I Go On") it sounds like an album where the two songwriters weren't in the same room while they wrote.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Friday, August 16, 2019 10:19 PM (thirty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
according to interviews this is in fact the cse
― like, I’m eating an elephant head (katherine), Saturday, 17 August 2019 02:55 (four years ago) link