To be frank they frighten me more than the clown from Slipknot juggling the heads of each member of the United Nations Security Council while saying "you're next boyo".
My fear of Sleater Kinney, three women from Portland, Oregon is completely unfounded and it's kept me from falling for them when it would have been quite easy for they rock so righteously as to lay claim to a mantle Patti Smith had no one to hand to. While the trio came out of punk's version of third wave feminism - riot grrrl - they are now much more than the only major band to have survived one of rock'n'roll's most necessary movements.
The third track, What's Mine is Yours starts with an almost radio-friendly call and response blues swagger but descends in to a grinding electronic fuzz, it's better than Queens of the Stone Age could ever muster because it's so much more spontaneous and when they find the chorus with a moment to go you know The Woods is going to be mighty, their muscle and heart deliver at every moment.
Modern Girl contrasts wistful flute runs with bitingly sarcastic lyrics about the pitfalls of modern life, it's almost impossible to look beyond such joyful music and in to the lyrics. By the end of the song a warm fuzz envelopes everything before the fiery right left right drumming of Janet Weiss introduces a song tagged by Sub Pop as a radio single. Entertain mixes chugging riffs with almost staccato vocals, a count and march drum beat and the album's most anthemic chorus: "Don't drag me down, I'm not falling down". The real change is just how accessible The Woods is, it's no bad thing either - the band have laid of the rock pedal and found more roll, it's a mighty fine album.
3/4
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