The Woods

Sleater-Kinney is a three-piece rock and roll combo from the wilds of Portland, Oregon, made up of the dual and dueling guitars and voices of Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, and the insistent and inventive drumming of Janet Weiss. The Woods (as in deepest, darkest; operating in dim corners of the heart and mind, both a physical reality and an emotional place) is the title of the new Sleater-Kinney album. It's their seventh full-length release and first for Sub Pop. Produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Low), The Woods, like many things with sevens on it, features an itch, a need to try new things. Among the new things you'll find here: honest-to-god guitar heroics/solos; new depth and heaviness to the songs; fuzzed out lows cropping up in places formerly reserved for staccato highs. All of this surrounding and infiltrating the constant in the Sleater-Kinney program: three, breathing, playing as one with unfettered passion and emotion.