Little Rope

The idea of another Sleater-Kinney album was initially "up in the air", as an introduction video of their previous album Path of Wellness (2021) resulted in a vague answer as to whether the duo would ever record another album.{{cite web|url=https://www.newstimes.com/entertainment/article/sleater-kinney-announce-new-album-little-18403583.php#photo-24300770|title=Sleater-Kinney announce new album 'Little Rope' — shaped by loss and grief — will arrive in 2024|last=Sherman|first=Maria|website=The News-Times|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=October 4, 2023}} However, after the release of their tenth studio album they turned to John Congleton to produce their next record. They had planned to work with Congleton "for a long time" but had to wait for "the stars" to align. Recording took place at Flora Recording & Playback in Portland, Oregon.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2237858/sleater-kinney-hell/music/|title=Sleater-Kinney – "Hell"|last=Rettig|first=James|website=Stereogum|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=October 4, 2023|archive-date=October 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004014728/https://www.stereogum.com/2237858/sleater-kinney-hell/music/|url-status=live}}

Half of the record had been written prior to Brownstein's mother's death, with the remaining tracks "approached with grief hanging heavy".{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/sleater-kinney-new-album-little-rope-first-single-hell-tour-dates-buy-tickets-3508471|title=Sleater-Kinney announce new album 'Little Rope' and share first single 'Hell'|last=Krol|first=Charlotte|website=NME|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=October 4, 2023|archive-date=October 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006200753/https://www.nme.com/news/music/sleater-kinney-new-album-little-rope-first-single-hell-tour-dates-buy-tickets-3508471|url-status=live}} As a result, Little Rope deals with topics including "global crisis and personal tragedy".{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/news/sleater-kinney-eleventh-album-little-rope|title=Sleater-Kinney announce eleventh studio album 'Little Rope'|last=Carter|first=Daisy|website=DIY|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=October 4, 2023|archive-date=October 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006200745/https://diymag.com/news/sleater-kinney-eleventh-album-little-rope|url-status=live}} Described as "one of the finest, most delicately layered" within their discography, the record is enriched through "complex, ambitious instrumentation".{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2023/10/sleater-kinney-little-rope-2024-tour-dates/|title=Sleater-Kinney Announce New Album Little Rope, 2024 Tour Dates|last=Jones|first=Abby|website=Consequence|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=October 4, 2023|archive-date=October 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004073729/https://consequence.net/2023/10/sleater-kinney-little-rope-2024-tour-dates/|url-status=live}}

The duo announced the album on October 3, 2023, alongside the release of the single "Hell", a "moody and eerie" track with an "explosive chorus" that was billed "pure Sleater-Kinney".{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/sleater-kinney-announce-new-album-little-rope/|title=Sleater-Kinney announce new album 'Little Rope'|last=Golsen|first=Tyler|website=Far Out|date=October 3, 2023|access-date=October 4, 2023|archive-date=October 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231006200755/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/what-happened-to-glenn-miller-the-unsolved-mystery-of-a-vanished-virtuoso/|url-status=live}}

On September 3, 2024, it was announced that a deluxe version of the album would be released on October 4.{{Cite web |title=Sleater-Kinney announce deluxe edition of Little Rope |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/sleater-kinney-announce-deluxe-edition-of-little-rope |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}} The song “Here Today” was released on the same day. Two more songs, entitled “This Time” and “Nothing to Lose” were announced to be released on the deluxe album.{{Cite web |last=Corcoran |first=Nina |date=2024-09-03 |title=Sleater-Kinney Announce Little Rope (Deluxe), Share Video for New Song |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/sleater-kinney-announce-little-rope-deluxe-share-video-for-new-song-watch/ |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 78/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/little-rope/sleater-kinney|title=Little Rope by Sleater-Kinney Reviews and Tracks|website=Metacritic|access-date=January 19, 2024}}

| rev1 = DIY

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://diymag.com/review/album/sleater-kinney-little-rope|title=Sleater-Kinney – Little Rope review|magazine=DIY|last=Thirlwell|first=Elvis|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev2 = The Line of Best Fit

| rev2score = 7/10{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/albums/sleater-kinney-little-rope-still-have-stories-to-tell|title=Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope Review – exciting and surprising|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Williams|first=Tom|date=January 17, 2024|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev3 = Mojo

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Sleater-Kinney – Little Rope|magazine=Mojo|page=84|date=February 2024}}

| rev4 = MusicOMH

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/sleater-kinney-little-rope|title=Sleater-Kinney – Little Rope {{!}} Album Reviews|website=MusicOMH|last=Murphy|first=John|date=January 17, 2024|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev5 = The Observer

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jan/13/sleater-kinney-little-rope-review|title=Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope review – pain, defiance and seizing the day|newspaper=The Observer|last=Empire|first=Kitty|author-link=Kitty Empire|date=January 14, 2024|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6score = 7.7/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sleater-kinney-little-rope/|title=Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope Album Review|website=Pitchfork|last=Pelley|first=Jenn|date=January 19, 2024|access-date=January 19, 2024}}

| rev7 = Record Collector

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/little-rope|title=Little Rope {{!}} Sleater Kinney|magazine=Record Collector|date=December 31, 2023|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev8 = The Skinny

| rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/sleater-kinney-little-rope|title=Sleater-Kinney – Little Rope review|magazine=The Skinny|last=Amour|first=Cheri|date=January 15, 2024|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev9 = Slant Magazine

| rev9score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/sleater-kinney-little-rope-album-review/|title=Sleater-Kinney Little Rope Review: Another Recalibration for a Dynamic Duo|magazine=Slant Magazine|last=Parkinson-Jones|first=Lewie|date=January 15, 2024|access-date=January 18, 2024}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = 7/10{{cite magazine|title=Sleater-Kinney – Little Rope|magazine=Uncut|page=36|date=January 2024}}

}}

Little Rope received a score of 78 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 20 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. Kitty Empire of The Observer found it to be "one of Sleater-Kinney's most taut and focused outings, with every crisp guitar line and expressive vocal showcased in textured relief". Uncut wrote that "Sleater-Kinney strike a finer balance between their established punk sound and the New Wave references that gummed up recent records". Mojo felt that the album "carves space for the well-worn mind, offering sharp perspective on moments when everything seems blunted". Jenn Pelley of Pitchfork called it Sleater-Kinney's "sturdiest, catchiest rock record since 2015's hiatus-breaking No Cities to Love and their most somber since 1999's The Hot Rock".

DIY{{'}}s Elvis Thirlwell remarked that with "none" of the band's "classic late-'90s output diluted by the passage of time, Little Rope sloshes up nothing less than a condensed, rocket-punch collection of ten three-minute bangers". Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Tom Williams stated that "this is still not the Sleater-Kinney of old, and longtime fans of the band who were previously left wanting by the band's work post-Weiss are unlikely to be entirely won over by Little Rope". He elaborated that "the ultimate sound and energy of Little Rope seems intentional – the duo's departure from their previously established winning formula, a conscious choice rather than a regretful necessity".

John Murphy of MusicOMH described the album as "a huge return to form" and "the sound of a band who have done some recalibrating and are back to doing what they do best", finding there to be "an intensity and focus about the band's 11th album that has been sorely missing on more recent outings". Record Collector called it "a fraught album that reaches out furiously for release, forming a push-pull of pressure and release around the band's defining attributes: Tucker's tumultuous vocals and Brownstein's livid guitar".

Writing for Slant Magazine, Lewie Parkinson-Jones stated that "Weiss's skill as an arranger is still missed here" but "Tucker and Brownstein deserve credit for continuing to take risks and experiment with Sleater-Kinney's established sound, resulting in another solid effort in an unexpectedly fruitful late period". The Skinny{{'}}s Cheri Amour found Little Rope to be "raw but still leaves us hankering for more", concluding: "Give us the electrifying assault and brutal guitar tones to fill those tiny cracks now present in our hearts. Give us a little more rope."

{{Track listing

| headline = Little Rope track listing

| all_writing = Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker.

| title1 = Hell

| length1 = 3:14

| title2 = Needlessly Wild

| length2 = 2:51

| title3 = Say It Like You Mean It

| length3 = 3:44

| title4 = Hunt You Down

| length4 = 3:32

| title5 = Small Finds

| length5 = 3:07

| title6 = Don't Feel Right

| length6 = 3:50

| title7 = Six Mistakes

| length7 = 3:08

| title8 = Crusader

| length8 = 3:37

| title9 = Dress Yourself

| length9 = 3:28

| title10 = Untidy Creature

| length10 = 3:28

| total_length = 33:59

}}

Sleater-Kinney

• Carrie Brownstein – vocals, guitar
• Corin Tucker – vocals, guitar

Additional contributors

• Angie Boylan – drums, percussion
• Galen Clark – keyboards, synthesizer
• Dave Depper – guitar, keyboards
• John Congleton – production, mixing, engineering
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• Cole Halvorsen – engineering

{{reflist}}

{{Sleater-Kinney}}

Category:2024 albums

Category:Loma Vista Recordings albums

Category:Sleater-Kinney albums

Category:Albums produced by John Congleton

Category:Albums recorded at Flora Recording & Playback