Sleater-Kinney The Woods

By all accounts, I should have hated this CD. The endless reviews that compared it to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix should have been enough to turn me off. I hate it when bands rehash old poses. It dilutes music into something predictable; marketable.

And I have always hated the sort of 'rriot grrl' pseudo-feminism from the 90's associated with Sleater Kinney. You know, the whole 'I'm a kickass chick with a guitar so FUCK YOU!' thing so admirably emulated by revolutionaries like Avril Lavigne. (Do I really have to share a sex with these people?)

This CD doesn't give a fuck what I think though and beats me black and blue. It's deliciously heavy and dark, but not callous like most other 'rock' outfits. But really, who's a 'rock' band? I mean, sure you got your hardcore bands, your alternative bands, your neo-new wave bands, but I think all bands and their publicists have decided that plain ol' rock is too boring. They need to do a bit of savvy infomercial-ing to make the kids bite. I sympathize for the poor suckers who are responsible for making bands like Hawthorne Heights seem new and exciting.

The Woods is refreshingly gimmick and pretension free. Which is especially remarkable, regrettably, for a band of girls. No matching outfits, needy puerile lyrics, or any of that other crap. The songs are relentless, atmospheric, sublime, creppy, and maybe most compellingly, cool.

"Rollercoaster" swaggers and stomps its way to heady guitar driven euphoria, and might be my favorite track off the album. In a year where tons of hyped releases sounded unbelievably precious (The Stars, Sufjam Stevens, The Decemberists, etc.) I fell in love too easily with this raw, loud, spine crushing quasi-cacophony.