Sleater-Kinney -- Path of Wellness: Review

Sleater Kinney -- Path of Wellness

[Mom + Pop]

Riot grrrl pioneers and indie rock legends Sleater-Kinney return with their 10th studio record Path Of Wellness, their third record since their reunion in 2015. Released on June 11th, 2021 to Mom + Pop Music, the album marks a break from tradition for the band for several reasons. Path of Wellness is the first self-produced record by the band, unlike their 2018 record, The Center Won’t Hold, which was produced by Annie Clark AKA St. Vincent.

Also, this is their first album recorded in over 23 years without the band’s longtime drummer Janet Weiss, who split from the band just before the release of their last album. While Sleater-Kinney has alway been guitar-forward rock music, Weiss’s grizzled yet melodic style has been a staple of their sound. As a trio, Weiss, guitarists Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker made their name in the 90s and 00s making some of the sharpest punk of either decade, and one wonders how the band would make up for the void left on Path Of Wellness.

So with the album’s release, fans were happy to hear a session drummer who fit neatly Sleater-Kinney’s vibe, but that just meant the album’s shortcomings were offloaded in other departments. Don’t get me wrong, Path Of Wellness isn’t an awful record, but it certainly feels half-baked. And this aura of half-baked indie rock invades its songwriting and its grooves which lack a certain gumption normally seen on all Sleater-Kinney projects.

Let’s take a track like “Tomorrow’s Grave” which on first listen, seems pretty energetic with its shouty chorus and alarming guitar riffs but loses its energy quickly on re-listens. “Down The Line” strikes you with Brownstein’s biting delivery and the band’s interlocking guitars, but fails to leave a lasting impact on the listener. Your first reaction to a lot of these will be like “Yeah, that’s Sleater-Kinney alright,” but little sticks in your head to bring back to these songs.

Like I said earlier, I don’t think the issue is chemistry. Their new drummer seems to be fitting in with the sound neatly. It might fool you that a lack of cohesion is what might be plaguing Path Of Wellness, but the devil is in the lack of refinement in these songs. Take for instance “Complex Female Characters” which exudes the signature feminist angst the band is known for but on closer inspection, its instrumentation fails to meet the energy, feeling more slapped together than edgy and DIY.

Path Of Wellness isn’t devoid of quality though. It’s first half is populated with its tightest tracks including “Worry With You” which compartmentalizes anxiety in quarantine into a colorful rocker with colossal guitar lines and comedically unhealthy lyrics. “Shadow Town” is a densely dramatic dirge with brilliant vocals from Tucker that hold the whole thing together.

My personal favorite is “High In The Grass,” a tasteful blend of heavy psych and watery indie rock, forming an anthem about enjoying grass in the grass. Tucker’s operatic tenor shines on this song more than any other on the album, and brings this summer-y anthem to life. And it's here more than anywhere that their distinct songwriting quality elevates the band’s performances and chemistry.

Sleater-Kinney’s Path Of Wellness documents the band in transitional period following a major line-up change that seemed to blind side the record’s direction, plaguing it with lukewarm energy and fractured songwriting.

6.0/10.