Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold - August 16th

I don't think it's better than No Cities to Love, but better than the last two by a comfortable margin.

oh yeah but that's a janet record, sort of consider them two different bands was talking about post janet

center was also a janet record, which is easy to forget. it just isn't very good.

she played on it but had no creative input iirc

that's the one that made he quit on the whole st vincent deal

Lindsay Zoladz , NY Times critic in part on new album:

. The new LP has more oomph and darkness than the band’s self-produced 2021 LP “Path of Wellness” and more emotional resonance than its mechanical 2019 effort “The Center Won’t Hold.” But even in its wildest moments, when compared to the band’s mightiest work, “Little Rope” sounds unfortunately diminished and curiously restrained.

The Center Won’t Hold was the album I wanted after No Cities to Love: a break from their sound. I still listen to it.

i can't stand it tbh

I hear ya.

okay on to the positive - "Say It Like You Mean It" - wow what a chorus (yr contractually obligated to refer to a chorus like this as "soaring"), incredible hook and melody

I'm intrigued by this one. It's kind of a bummer how their reputation basically collapsed after JW left (I think that break was possibly even more acrimonious than she let on in her occasional interviews on the subject), but they were too great to be dismissed based on that alone and i'm always ready to give them a chance.

this one doesn't have that feeling where you're trying to talk yourself into it or "oh isn't this an interesting direction" i just like it like it

yeah the album feels more natural, they don't appear to be trying to compensate for anything or really 'trying something new', it's just got a bunch of good songs.

saw them last night in SF at the Warfield (they are playing again tonight,but it was moved to the Regency because I think these two shows undersold). I didn't have high expectations even though I do like this album, mainly because the show I saw after Center was so underwhelming. But they were really good. It's obviously not 1999 anymore and I'm no longer 28 and neither are they, but this was as good as I could have hoped for.

the crowd was fucking annoying as shit though, I seem to have stood right in the area of a bunch of entitled babies. LIke when I came in, some guy actually grabbed my arm and moved me out of the way because I guess I blocked his view. I almost punched him. Later, near the end of the show, when I cautiously took out my camera to take a quick video, some lady grabbed me and said "I can't see a fucking thing if your phone is there" Ok yeah, that's been happening to me all night. She also grabbed my son when he walked by her and said "oh no girl, uh uh" because he briefly blocked her line of sight for four seconds. wtf is wrong with everyone.

yeah ppl dont know to be at shows anymore

when i was at margo price at the fillmore this woman was fully complaining that people were moving into her spot and i’m like it’s not yours, the crowd moves, so you do too, just fucking adjust and grow the fuck up