Sleater-Kinney

Item: All Hands on the Bad One
Author: Ralf Hogaboom

All Hands on the Bad One

(2000)

Reviewed by Ralf Hogaboom

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Label Kill Rock StarsBandoppler2000

indie rock punk

Sleater-Kinney are here to take over the world. Songs like "Male Model" (Take the Stage!... It's time for a new rock n' roll age), "Was it a lie?" (I want to close my eyes/I want to pull the wires) wrench energy from criticism. SK also know exactly where they are, with an acute awareness for the power – and limitations – of rock stardom. It's exactly this combination that makes the focus of this record so sharp. (And it is a Record, in the finest sense of the word.)

Musically, the album continues to grow where The Hot Rock left off – shining and controlled rock rage, rock attitude, keen intelligence, latticed guitars, stripped and clever drumwork, accenting only the best they have to offer. The world may accept less than this, but SK won't let it. They don't let up on the world for a minute.

One of the most outstanding features in the lyrics is the self-reflection. It's made very casually, but it builds. There is no remorse, just firmness to the words. "They hand you the worlds' smallest microphone/it's still too loud and you're asked to go home," from "The Professional." The title track, lush with vocal harmonies like the Yardbirds (yes, that's what I said) points and says "You can polish everything/except for the mark on you."

And they know the world, and what is going on. They know their own marketing, can smell it miles away. "They took our ideas to their marketing stars/and now i'm spending all my days at girlpower.com" tell us what their looks mean.

Each song is a complete thought, with multiple threads going throughout, built up together to a rich world of power, persuasiveness, and character. Half of the complexity is the edgy and intricate guitars pushed by a details-oriented drums – in other words, kick-ass music.

The other half is the declaration that comes across in the lyrics. SK is not dicking around. They mean what they say, and they're going to follow through with word and fist. Either join up or get the hell out of the way.