Search - Sleater-Kinney :: Dig Me Out

Best album of the best band of the last x number of years

Steven Rubio | Berkeley, CA USA | 11/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recently I met with some friends who were unfamiliar with the music of Sleater-Kinney. I decided to buy them an album so they could decide for themselves. I chose Dig Me Out; the choice seemed obvious to me. "One More Hour" is my favorite S-K song ever; "Turn It On," "Words and Guitar" and "Not What You Want" are among their greatest-ever rockers; "Little Babies" makes a great singalong. They have never made a bad album, but this one is the best because 1) it's the first one with Secret Weapon drummer Janet Weiss, which all by itself makes this better than what preceded it; 2) Corin and Carrie were still doing the "let's sing two different lyrics at the same time" thing that works so well in this band, which makes it better than what came after (they've gradually reduced the amount of times they do this); 3) it has more great songs than any other album by any other band since I can't remember when."

Turn it on turn it on turn it on!

stolenmoment | Down By the Sea | 07/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow... I've never seen such extreme disagreement on the quality or importance of one band since the Sex Pistols. This always happens when a group lays their sweat and blood and passion on the line, refusing to sweeten the pill for popular consumption. But love them or hate them, S-K continues to cut through today's banal soundscape like a red-hot bullet. We've endured 40+ years of male-dominated rock, with every pose & persona flogged to death. Does the world need another Robert Plant or Eddie Vedder clone? Must our young women continue to choose soulless cheezcake queens like Britney Spears & Spice Girls as role models?There's only one way to rock-- as if your life depended on it. S-K makes this clear on the first track, the aural equivalent of crawling out of one's own skin. "Turn It On" chugs along to a nervous-breakdown climax, and just when you think the singer might actually lose her sanity-- "do i sound crazy?/ well i just might"-- it's all suddenly over. The twin guitars of "Heart Factory" mimic heavy industry. A common criticism of this album is that the lyrics are weak. The music does most of the talking anyway, so who's not listening? "Little Babies" is a delicious slice of Sleater humor... hey, once you've sliced & diced the world to bloody bits, what can you say but "dum dum dee dee dee dum dum dee dum do?" Even the Go-Go's are welcome at this party!So many great artists aren't properly appreciated until they're a historical footnote. Sleater-Kinney is a band that matters. Don't wait for the world to catch on-- just buy the damn albums."

Energetic, emotional, sexy...fantasmo!

Ham Sammich | Columbus, OH United States | 10/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sleater-Kinney is a band that had enjoyed quite a bit of hype in the mainstream media as a result I was somewhat hesitant to give them a chance. I am a fan of bands associated with the sadly and inexplicably overexposed riot girl movement and since Le Tigre seemed to endorse them, against my own better judgment, I bought this album.And boy, am I glad I did. Time Magazine actually got it right! These are intelligent, sexy, talented women who have put together an album that is not quite as overtly political as Le Tigre or Bikini Kill, but nevertheless, they make their general disposition quite clear. They manage to turn love songs into feminist manifestos that are quite a bit more poetic and musical than something you might expect from bands that more clearly advertise their feminism.This album's best songs are the more personal, "One More Hour" is a good example, where Corin Tucker can truly show off her vocal range, a talent usually wasted on more diluted genres. "Turn It On" is probably the best song lyrically, almost indescribable in content; but the tone is clearly one of deep anger and resentment...at some person...or thing? I don't know, and it doesn't matter.And that is truly the strength of this album...its emotion. I highly recommend it!"