What’s wrong with a new supergroup delivering an impatient, live-in-the-studio recording? Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss were previously longtime bandmates, so too much prep might’ve turned this new foursome into a Sleater-Kinney soundalike, right? Well, no worries. Mary Timony’s guitar and Rebecca Cole’s keyboards expand the horizons thoroughly. “Romance” leaps out like a particularly undisciplined Go-Go’s single, and the other nine tracks similarly make light of the benefits of sturdy and stolid songcraft. Weiss adapts with her usual devastating skills, and the distinct dueling guitar tones develop a layered dialectic like the kind that used to be heard from Taylor/Richards. In sum, this summit of all-stars gives in to its own potential for joyous cacophony, held barely in check by the songwriting. The sound is what found us/Sound is the blood between me and you, they sing with both swagger and honesty. This record might only be the blueprint for what they do in a live setting — but even if they never join up in a studio again, it’s been worthwhile to hear these kindred souls connect and rock out.
This article appears in September 20, 2011.
