Path of Wellness | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 11, 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2020–2021 | |||
Studio | Hafling Studios (Portland, Oregon) | |||
Genre | Punk rock [1] | |||
Length | 38:57 | |||
Label | Mom + Pop | |||
Producer | Sleater-Kinney | |||
Sleater-Kinney chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Path of Wellness | ||||
|
Path of Wellness is the tenth studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney. The album was released on June 11, 2021 by Mom + Pop Music. [2] [3]
Following a nine-year hiatus, the American punk rock band Sleater-Kinney announced their return with the track "Bury Our Friends" on October 19, 2014. [4] On January 20, 2015, they released No Cities to Love via Sub Pop Records, the first Sleater-Kinney album since 2005's The Woods. [5] Three years later, singer and guitarist Carrie Brownstein told Pitchfork that Sleater-Kinney was working on a follow-up effort to No Cities To Love, but that they were "going to do this very slowly". [6] In January 2019, Brownstein confirmed to NPR that the album was produced by St. Vincent and would be released later in the year. [7]
On July 1, 2019, drummer Janet Weiss announced over Instagram that she was leaving Sleater-Kinney, saying, "The band is heading in a new direction and it is time for me to move on." [8] Sleater-Kinney's ninth studio album, The Center Won't Hold, was released a month and a half later, on August 16. [9] There was some speculation among fans that Weiss had left Sleater-Kinney due to St. Vincent's involvement in the new record, which Brownstein denied, saying that it was originally Weiss's idea to work with her. [10] Responding to a fan on Instagram, Brownstein added, "She left. We asked her to stay. We tried. It's hard and sad." [11] When Sleater-Kinney went on tour that September to promote The Center Won't Hold, they recruited Angie Boylan of Aye Nako as their touring drummer. [12] That November, Weiss appeared on the Trap Set With Joe Wong podcast, saying that she had left Sleater-Kinney because the "roles changed within the band", and that she was "just the drummer now" as opposed to "a creative equal" with Tucker and Brownstein. [13]
On May 11, 2021, Sleater-Kinney announced the album title, cover art, and release date for Path of Wellness, and promised their fans "so much more, soon". [14] Accompanying the album announcement was the release of Path of Wellness's lead single and music video, "Worry With You". [15] The video, directed by Alberta Poon, features a young couple, played by Fabi Reyna and Megan Watson, attempting to cohabitate in their undersized house. Tucker and Brownstein make cameo appearances as an actor in a pharmaceutical commercial and as a television fitness instructor, respectively. [16] On May 26, the band released their follow-up single and video to "Worry With You", titled "High in the Grass". [17] Directed by Kelly Sears, the video for "High in the Grass" provides a psychedelic element, with trees with eyes and a number of decapitated figures, both dancing and attempting cardiopulmonary resuscitation, before culminating in a dance party. [18] The final single to be released in advance of Path of Wellness was "Method", which came out on June 9. [19] The song was accompanied by a Lance Bangs-directed lyric video. [20]
To accompany the June 11 release of Path of Wellness, Sleater-Kinney announced a variety show-style livestream on Amazon Music's Twitch channel, beginning at 9 p.m. ( ET) on June 10. [21] Hosted by Chris Hewett, the livestream featured "interviews, live performances and a fortune teller weighing in on [the band's] future prospects", as well as a variety of guest appearances from celebrities and musicians such as Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Matt Berninger from the National. [21] On June 25, Sleater-Kinney released a live extended play titled Live At The Hallowed Halls, featuring recordings of the four tracks on Path of Wellness that they played during the livestream event. [22] Sleater-Kinney promoted Path of Wellness with two other live and recorded events. On June 16, Sleater-Kinney appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform "Worry With You". Rather than playing in front of a live studio audience, the band submitted a pre-taped performance from an abandoned skate park. [23] The next day, Tucker and Brownstein appeared on the Audible service Words + Music to discuss "30 years of shared history making music and making noise". [24]
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (August 2023) |
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.1/10 [25] |
Metacritic | 78/100 [26] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The A.V. Club | B [27] |
Beats Per Minute | 58% [28] |
Clash | 7/10 [29] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [30] |
Exclaim! | 8/10 [31] |
NME | [32] |
Paste | 7.3/10 [33] |
Pitchfork | 6.8/10 [34] |
Rolling Stone | [35] |
Under the Radar | [36] |
Path of Wellness was met with mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Path of Wellness has an average score of 78 based on 18 reviews. [26] The review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [25]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Path of Wellness" | 2:40 |
2. | "High in the Grass" | 4:05 |
3. | "Worry with You" | 3:50 |
4. | "Method" | 4:20 |
5. | "Shadow Town" | 5:10 |
6. | "Favorite Neighbor" | 2:49 |
7. | "Tomorrow's Grave" | 3:52 |
8. | "No Knives" | 1:16 |
9. | "Complex Female Characters" | 3:00 |
10. | "Down the Line" | 4:06 |
11. | "Bring Mercy" | 3:49 |
Total length: | 38:57 |
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (August 2023) |
Sleater-Kinney
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums ( OCC) [37] | 22 |
UK Independent Albums ( OCC) [38] | 14 |
Path of Wellness | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 11, 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2020–2021 | |||
Studio | Hafling Studios (Portland, Oregon) | |||
Genre | Punk rock [1] | |||
Length | 38:57 | |||
Label | Mom + Pop | |||
Producer | Sleater-Kinney | |||
Sleater-Kinney chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Path of Wellness | ||||
|
Path of Wellness is the tenth studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney. The album was released on June 11, 2021 by Mom + Pop Music. [2] [3]
Following a nine-year hiatus, the American punk rock band Sleater-Kinney announced their return with the track "Bury Our Friends" on October 19, 2014. [4] On January 20, 2015, they released No Cities to Love via Sub Pop Records, the first Sleater-Kinney album since 2005's The Woods. [5] Three years later, singer and guitarist Carrie Brownstein told Pitchfork that Sleater-Kinney was working on a follow-up effort to No Cities To Love, but that they were "going to do this very slowly". [6] In January 2019, Brownstein confirmed to NPR that the album was produced by St. Vincent and would be released later in the year. [7]
On July 1, 2019, drummer Janet Weiss announced over Instagram that she was leaving Sleater-Kinney, saying, "The band is heading in a new direction and it is time for me to move on." [8] Sleater-Kinney's ninth studio album, The Center Won't Hold, was released a month and a half later, on August 16. [9] There was some speculation among fans that Weiss had left Sleater-Kinney due to St. Vincent's involvement in the new record, which Brownstein denied, saying that it was originally Weiss's idea to work with her. [10] Responding to a fan on Instagram, Brownstein added, "She left. We asked her to stay. We tried. It's hard and sad." [11] When Sleater-Kinney went on tour that September to promote The Center Won't Hold, they recruited Angie Boylan of Aye Nako as their touring drummer. [12] That November, Weiss appeared on the Trap Set With Joe Wong podcast, saying that she had left Sleater-Kinney because the "roles changed within the band", and that she was "just the drummer now" as opposed to "a creative equal" with Tucker and Brownstein. [13]
On May 11, 2021, Sleater-Kinney announced the album title, cover art, and release date for Path of Wellness, and promised their fans "so much more, soon". [14] Accompanying the album announcement was the release of Path of Wellness's lead single and music video, "Worry With You". [15] The video, directed by Alberta Poon, features a young couple, played by Fabi Reyna and Megan Watson, attempting to cohabitate in their undersized house. Tucker and Brownstein make cameo appearances as an actor in a pharmaceutical commercial and as a television fitness instructor, respectively. [16] On May 26, the band released their follow-up single and video to "Worry With You", titled "High in the Grass". [17] Directed by Kelly Sears, the video for "High in the Grass" provides a psychedelic element, with trees with eyes and a number of decapitated figures, both dancing and attempting cardiopulmonary resuscitation, before culminating in a dance party. [18] The final single to be released in advance of Path of Wellness was "Method", which came out on June 9. [19] The song was accompanied by a Lance Bangs-directed lyric video. [20]
To accompany the June 11 release of Path of Wellness, Sleater-Kinney announced a variety show-style livestream on Amazon Music's Twitch channel, beginning at 9 p.m. ( ET) on June 10. [21] Hosted by Chris Hewett, the livestream featured "interviews, live performances and a fortune teller weighing in on [the band's] future prospects", as well as a variety of guest appearances from celebrities and musicians such as Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Matt Berninger from the National. [21] On June 25, Sleater-Kinney released a live extended play titled Live At The Hallowed Halls, featuring recordings of the four tracks on Path of Wellness that they played during the livestream event. [22] Sleater-Kinney promoted Path of Wellness with two other live and recorded events. On June 16, Sleater-Kinney appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform "Worry With You". Rather than playing in front of a live studio audience, the band submitted a pre-taped performance from an abandoned skate park. [23] The next day, Tucker and Brownstein appeared on the Audible service Words + Music to discuss "30 years of shared history making music and making noise". [24]
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (August 2023) |
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.1/10 [25] |
Metacritic | 78/100 [26] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The A.V. Club | B [27] |
Beats Per Minute | 58% [28] |
Clash | 7/10 [29] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [30] |
Exclaim! | 8/10 [31] |
NME | [32] |
Paste | 7.3/10 [33] |
Pitchfork | 6.8/10 [34] |
Rolling Stone | [35] |
Under the Radar | [36] |
Path of Wellness was met with mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Path of Wellness has an average score of 78 based on 18 reviews. [26] The review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [25]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Path of Wellness" | 2:40 |
2. | "High in the Grass" | 4:05 |
3. | "Worry with You" | 3:50 |
4. | "Method" | 4:20 |
5. | "Shadow Town" | 5:10 |
6. | "Favorite Neighbor" | 2:49 |
7. | "Tomorrow's Grave" | 3:52 |
8. | "No Knives" | 1:16 |
9. | "Complex Female Characters" | 3:00 |
10. | "Down the Line" | 4:06 |
11. | "Bring Mercy" | 3:49 |
Total length: | 38:57 |
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (August 2023) |
Sleater-Kinney
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums ( OCC) [37] | 22 |
UK Independent Albums ( OCC) [38] | 14 |