VMP Magazine

From a side project to a full-time, prolific force into an indefinite hiatus and then back around for another go at it together, the last 25 years have undoubtedly been a winding journey for Sleater-Kinney. Always led by the big-voiced and guitar-wielding combo of Corin Tucker & Carrie Brownstein and largely supported by drummer Janet Weiss, the riot grrrl-inspired band has released eight full-length albums, all of which are noteworthy.

Sleater-Kinney (pronounced SLAY-ter, not SLEET-er) got its start in 1994 in Olympia, Washington. Named after a street near the space where Tucker and Brownstein used to rehearse, S-K started as an offshoot of the duo’s respective mainstays at the time — Tucker’s Heavens to Betsy and Brownstein’s Excuse 17 — but would eventually turn into their main affair. In ’95 the band released their debut effort, and then proceeded to follow it up with another six albums before deciding to take a break in 2006. During the stretch before the hiatus, they found their longest tenured drummer, Janet Weiss, and became one of the most critically adored rock acts around.

After a number of years away, in which Brownstein played with Wild Flag and co-created (with Fred Armisen) the show Portlandia, Tucker released two solo albums and Weiss toured with Quasi, Stephen Malkmus and others, S-K rallied back together and crafted 2015’s No Cities To Love. Now, here in 2019, they’re set to release a St. Vincent-produced album, The Center Won’t Hold, the Vinyl Me, Please Essentials album for August 2019 (learn more here), and the ever-diligent band is standing on the edge of new and exciting territory.

To get a sense of how they got here, let’s take a look back at each of their LPs.