Album: Dig Me Out
Grunge's biggest acts, like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, tended to be all-male groups with only a few exceptions, notably Hole, led by Courtney Love. At the same time as grunge emerged (and in the same location, Seattle and Washington on the Pacific Northwest coast of America), another movement sprung up called riot grrrl, a feminist coalition of musicians and activists spearheaded by the likes of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. Inspired by 70s punk rockers such as Siouxsie Sioux and Patti Smith, the riot grrrl movement had its own fanzines and a strong DIY ethic. In the UK, "girl power", a phrase coined by Bikini Kill, also took off in the 90s with frontrunners like Shampoo from Plumstead (my home town) and most famously, The Spice Girls, who had their first hit in summer 1996 with Wannabe. As much as anything, The Spice Girls proved that there was a huge appetite for well-crafted pop from charismatic girls, whereas Sleater-Kinney showed that an all-female punk band could write their own brilliantly original songs that were also political and tuneful. Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein both left riot grrrl groups (Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17 respectively) to co-found Sleater-Kinney in 1994, with Dig Me Out their third and best studio LP.
Title track Dig Me Out, with its shredding guitar sound and howling Tucker vocals, opens the album and immediately declares that this is a loud punk rock record that's a million miles away from manufactured pop. For me, there's a definite hint of PJ Harvey's Dress in the way the opening track builds. One More Hour shows that Sleater-Kinney could also do beautiful melodies, with lyrics that explore the break-up of the relationship between Tucker and Brownstein ("The dress you wore, the pretty shoes / are things I left behind for you"). This alternating style continues throughout the album, with tender ballads like Buy Her Candy offset by the noise rock of It's Enough and Not What You Want. One of the record's highlights is Little Babies, which confronts traditional notions of maternity ("I'm the water, I'm the dishes, I'm the soap / I will comfort, make you clean, help you cope") and is a perfect blend of punk and pop. There are also nods to the Talking Heads (Dance Song '97) and Devo (Words & Guitar), while much of the album is spurred on by Janet Weiss' energetic drumming. Punk may have been off the radar in the late 90s, but Sleater-Kinney and their label Kill Rock Stars had a brief and brilliant moment in the limelight with this album.
Artist: Sleater-Kinney
Born: Olympia, Washington
Released: April 1997
Genre: Riot Grrrl
Title track Dig Me Out, with its shredding guitar sound and howling Tucker vocals, opens the album and immediately declares that this is a loud punk rock record that's a million miles away from manufactured pop. For me, there's a definite hint of PJ Harvey's Dress in the way the opening track builds. One More Hour shows that Sleater-Kinney could also do beautiful melodies, with lyrics that explore the break-up of the relationship between Tucker and Brownstein ("The dress you wore, the pretty shoes / are things I left behind for you"). This alternating style continues throughout the album, with tender ballads like Buy Her Candy offset by the noise rock of It's Enough and Not What You Want. One of the record's highlights is Little Babies, which confronts traditional notions of maternity ("I'm the water, I'm the dishes, I'm the soap / I will comfort, make you clean, help you cope") and is a perfect blend of punk and pop. There are also nods to the Talking Heads (Dance Song '97) and Devo (Words & Guitar), while much of the album is spurred on by Janet Weiss' energetic drumming. Punk may have been off the radar in the late 90s, but Sleater-Kinney and their label Kill Rock Stars had a brief and brilliant moment in the limelight with this album.
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