It's been 10 years since the release of Sleater-Kinney's last album "The Woods". This record is considered by most music fans as a seminal album of the 2000's, which puts the band in a very hard position. Following up a critically acclaimed album is never easy, especially when its been 10 years since the release of said album. But Sleater-Kinney has once again put together another fantastic album that will please both fans of their past material, while also bringing in new fans as well. "No Cities to Love", which was released on January 20th, of this year is an example of how to make a comeback album. It's neither a retread of their past material nor is it a complete departure from their normal sound, but is a nice blending of both. While "No Cities to Love" isn't as chaotic or lo-fi than their past albums, it is still a very entertaining and inventive record. The album also showcases a nice maturity in sound, with the best examples of this more matured sound being the tracks "Price Tag", "Fangless", and "New Wave". The album like other Sleater-Kinney releases has some very nicely played guitar by guitarist and co-vocalist Carrie Brownstein. Her playing is usually enhanced with the use of distortion and other guitar effects pedals that give the band a incredibly great sense of power and some nice adding flavor. Tracks like "New Wave" and "Price Tag" and "No Anthems" are the best examples of her very creative and inventive guitar playing. The vocals done by both Carrie and bassist Corin Tucker are also fantastic. Their vocals on this album are very powerful and are also well sung. Tracks like "Gimme Love" and "Hey Darling" are good examples of this. Corin Tucker's bass playing is also really well played and the drums by Janet Weiss do a great job at laying down some solid drum parts. Overall, the rhythm section is strong and gives the album a very solid feel. The album clocks in at around 32 minutes, which in my opinion is a good thing. The album doesn't over stay its welcome with overly long tracks or needlessly long outros, but gets straight to the point, which I appreciate. Sadly, they're a couple of tracks that don't jive with me as well as some others. Examples being track 3 "Surface Envy" and track 4 "No Cities to Love". These songs to me are the least interesting songs on the album, with "Surface Envy's" very so-so chorus and "No Cities to Love's" kinda boring feel. But these tracks don't take too much away from this album. Tracks like "Price Tag", "Fangless", "New Wave", and "No Anthems" are so good that the more forgettable tracks are more forgivable. The album's flow isn't the best, but since the album is so short, it really doesn't matter in my opinion. The closing track "Fade" is a interesting closer to the album, with a slightly doomy feel during the beginning and end of the track and an more artsy feel during the middle portion of the song.

Overall, "No Cities to Love" is a very strong Alt-rock album, with some creative and inventive songwriting, guitar, and vocals. The album's overall feel is solid, with only a couple of so-so songs, but plenty of great ones. I highly recommend this album to anyone who's looking for a solid rock album, with some awesome guitars and very creative song-writing. I give "No Cities to Love" my rating of an 8.8/10. Listen to it!

Favorite Tracks: Price Tag, Fangless, New Wave, and No Anthems

Least Favorite: Surface Envy and No Cities to Love

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