Riot-grrl rock-n-roll meets the emotions of grief

Sleater-Kinney’s newest release and eleventh album, Little Rope, is a powerful set of ten songs taking the listener through a well translated journey of grief. The album starts with the song “Hell,” a demonic and dark track. This song starts calmly but quickly becomes loud and heavy. The verses of the song leave the listener happily surprised once the chorus hits. The song is fun and inviting, leaving the listener wondering whether the rest of the album will hold. Will there be more surprises like in “Hell?” Will the album be mainly upbeat or slow? Many questions arise with this first track which is an extremely effective tactic, enticing the listener to continue on with the album and see what else Sleater-Kinney has to bring.

A majority of this album is upbeat and reckless. With songs like “Needlessly Wild” and “Crusader,” which are both danceable and fun to listen to; the artist does a great job of adding breaks within the songs, separating the pieces of the track. “Crusader” is one upbeat example showcasing a fun break that keeps the listener’s attention. In another song, “Hunt You Down,” there is a crunchy guitar solo that acts as a break. The track, “Don’t Feel Right” is happier and has a brighter tone than the rest of the album. The lyrics, about being a failure and processing grief, are a big theme within this album.

Sleater-Kinney also dips their toes into extraterrestrial synths which almost produces a glam rock feel. This is especially heard in the song “Say It Like You Mean It.” However, the album seems to mainly find itself within the riot-grrl and rock-n-roll genres. The vocals are powerful and at times spoken. Tracks such as “Small Finds” truly showcase the riot-grrl genre within the vocals and overall sound of the song. The spoken vocals seem to emit more emotion and feeling as the sung vocals sound a bit strained. When they become more powerful, almost yelling, they showcase the talent of the singer. 

Even with a lot of upbeat songs, no good album is complete without some slower tracks. In Little Rope, songs such as “Dress Yourself” and “Six Mistakes” act as the slow counterparts of Little Rope. “Six Mistakes” is an interesting track as the lead guitar sounds like it could be the basis of a metal song. However, the drums are more similar to punk. The music is not very eventful and seems to follow a similar motif for a good amount of the song. There is a small break within the middle of the song which breaks the song up a bit before it goes back to the same melody. 

The final song of the album, “Untidy Creature,” is a slow ending immediately starting with a powerful half-time beat. Personally, this song is a great finale as it encompasses a good variety of aspects used within the album. It is a bit slow, unlike most of the songs on this album, but keeps the listener’s ears perked. There is a lot of emotion put into this song as well as many of the songs that make up Little Rope.