Hot Rock [LP]

Sleater-Kinney: Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein (vocals, guitar); Janet Weiss (drums).
Additional personnel: Roger Mutenot (slide guitar); Seth Warren (violin, viola).
Recorded at Avast Studio, Seattle, Washington in July 1998.
With 1997's DIG ME OUT, Sleater-Kinney were about as mainstream-popular as decidedly dissonant indie-rock girls could be. As the archetypal riot-grrrl collective, the trio found themselves emblazoned on the cover of all the requisite magazines and in practically every fashionable up-and-comer's list. Which begged the eternal question of the follow-up, and how to make one. Luckily, Sleater-Kinney's appeal lies primarily in its iconoclasm, and with THE HOT ROCK it retained its indie credibility on the Kill Rock Stars label, while becoming even more raw and experimental.
While the album features undeniably catchy ditties such as the title track and the singalong "Get Up," it also includes darker, more intricate cuts such as "God Is a Number," and "Banned From the End of the World." Though definitely not a calculated effort to woo the world opened up to them by their unexpected popularity, THE HOT ROCK remains a refreshingly rocking album.