It’s still early days of course, but based on what we’ve listened to so far in the first couple of months of 2015, Sleater-Kinney are without opponent not only in the category of "Best Comeback" of the year, but also "Best Album" and "Best" everything else I can think of.
It’s no surprise, really; Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss had already joined forces recently in Wild Flag giving us one of the best records of 2011, while Corin Tucker’s return to action with The Corin Tucker Band in 2010 resulted in two fine records and the easy conclusion that putting these three women in a room together again could not fail to recreate the punk rock magic of their past (see here the conclusion of our November 2010 post about the punk rock genius of Sleater-Kinney).
"No Cities To Love" picks up exactly where "The Woods" left off in 2005, adding another great chapter to Sleater-Kinney's fascinating story. Ten fierce tracks (12 if you find the limited edition), no filler, no gaps to the intensity of the delivery, 30-something minutes of punk rock greatness that very few bands can deliver. Make no mistake; Sleater-Kinney’s eighth record is not only one of their best efforts so far, it is the next link in an unbreakable chain that if you follow it back, it will lead you to the finest works of rock’s greats, from PJ Harvey and Nirvana, to The Jam, the Ramones, Patti Smith and even further back to the windmills of Pete Townshend.
Check out below our favorite albums and tracks of the first couple of months of 2015, which also include several 2014 releases plus a few must-listen re-releases and compilations, and click here to see what we were listening to exactly seven years ago in the very first post of this blog (yes, CMC just turned 7!):
Check out below our favorite albums and tracks of the first couple of months of 2015, which also include several 2014 releases plus a few must-listen re-releases and compilations, and click here to see what we were listening to exactly seven years ago in the very first post of this blog (yes, CMC just turned 7!):
Top 20 Albums
1. No Cities To Love - SLEATER-KINNEY
2. What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World - THE DECEMBERISTS
3. Viet Cong - VIET CONG
4. Phantom Radio - MARK LANEGAN BAND
5. Seeds - TV ON THE RADIO
6. Run The Jewels 2 - RUN THE JEWELS
7. Pom Pom - ARIEL PINK
8. We Come From The Same Place - ALLO DARLIN'
9. The Other I - 2:54
10. Alvvays - ALVVAYS
11. Lateness Of Dancers - HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
12. V For Vaselines - THE VASELINES
13. Underneath The Rainbow - BLACK LIPS
14. Shriek - WYE OAK
15. Our Love - CARIBOU
16. Royal Blood - ROYAL BLOOD
17. Setting Sons (Deluxe Edition) - THE JAM
18. Extra Painful - YO LA TENGO
19. Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 14 - VARIOUS ARTISTS
20. Punk 45: Extermination Nights in the Sixth City - Cleveland, Ohio: Punk and The Decline of the Mid-West 1975-82 - VARIOUS ARTISTS
Top 20 Tracks
1. Pedestrian At Best - COURTNEY BARNETT
2. A New Wave - SLEATER-KINNEY
3. Begin Again - PURITY RING
4. Continental Shelf - VIET CONG
5. Cavalry Captain - THE DECEMBERISTS
6. Harvest Home - MARK LANEGAN BAND
7. Southern Grammar - HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER
8. Pay Attention - COLLEEN GREEN (mp3)
9. Romance And Adventure - ALLO DARLIN'
10. Next of Kin - ALVVAYS
11. High Tide Low Tide - THE VASELINES
12. Blindfold - 2:54
13. Glory - WYE OAK
14. Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck) - RUN THE JEWELS
15. Happy Idiot - TV ON THE RADIO
16. Mars - CARIBOU
17. Spectral Source - MILLIE & ANDREA
18. Plastic Raincoats In The Pig Parade - ARIEL PINK
19. Do The Vibrate - BLACK LIPS
20. Out Of The Black - ROYAL BLOOD
Sleater-Kinney - A New Wave
You can listen to our Top 20 Tracks on the Spotify playlist below (it's missing one but it includes a few bonus "blasts from the past") or you can check out our latest mixtape on tapely here.
