Sleater-Kinney: KCRW Live from HQ

What can you tell us about the writing process for the absolute waler, “Untidy Creature?” How did the themes evolve and how did you develop your vocal performance, Corin?

Tucker: It’s funny because “Untidy Creature” was actually the first of these songs that we wrote. And I mean, when Carrie played that guitar lead, which is so anthemic, I just wanted to sing to it right away. It came together pretty quickly and it just sounded like it belonged in a stadium to me, so that's where the vocal comes from. But we weren't entirely sure about the song at first. We were like: ‘Was it too easy?’ Is it not different enough from other stuff that we've done?’ So we kind of put it on the back burner. And this was like 2021 when we first started writing. A lot of stuff happened [since then], Roe V. Wade was overturned… There was just all this sadness, frustration, and anger. And the vocals in that song are like… It's a special place. As I started working on the lyrics, there was a channel that was just open for me. All of those feelings got put in there. [It’s about a] personal relationship and a personal viewpoint, but it's also a mirror to what's happening. [It reflects] how women are feeling in this country and how we feel like we're being seen in this country. And so to push those things both at the same time, that's the channel that kind of developed into that song for me. 

Carrie, you lost your mother and stepfather, tragically, in a car accident while working on this record. You've talked about how working on the record provided you structural familiarity at a time when grief can otherwise make you feel completely unmoored. But what was it like to channel such a vulnerable and deeply personal experience into something that you knew would eventually be shared so publicly? 

Brownstein: Well, I think part of it goes back to my first answer in the beginning of this conversation. In my life that I share with Corin, this band is the appropriate container. [It’s] where we've always dealt with heaviness, [where] we've dealt with things that are dark. The heaviness, the sort of despondency… Going back to our earliest records, you know, you can hear [it] in the vocals and the guitar. It's very fiery, it's very guttural. So it wasn't that strange to me to have Sleater-Kinney as an outlet for something that was very uncomfortable. But we had written most of the songs before the accident, so in some ways, it was less about a lyric changing [and more] about how we tended to the songs. It was about caretaking, about being particular about every note, every structure, all of the composition, and the arrangement. Because when you're grieving, there's so much that you're unable to do, there's so much that you're not able to say, and so much of the scaffolding of your life starts to dissipate. 

What I wanted to work on and to build was something that was living and breathing, which were the songs. So I think I wasn't so worried about the lyrical content, a lot of the songs are not directly addressing [the accident]. But it became the ritual, the choreography of the music, and the writing was something that I could just do. It's difficult, but you can't approach records worried about what critics are gonna say, or [what] your fans are going to say, no matter what the topic is. Sleater-Kinney has been part of my journey for such a long time. Life is dragged into this band, and this band is dragged into life. It's symbiotic in that way. Death is part of life and this band is part of my life. So it's all one big mess [laughs]. 

Tucker: I think that over the years we’ve found that sharing those stories helps people. Like, telling your story even if it's dark, even if it's hard… Those are the stories that people are like, ‘I was listening to [your music], I was going through something, and it helped me.’ We [realized] that's why we do this, because there is that connection. There’s that reciprocity between our fans and listening to the music, you know? And we know that sharing is something that can help lift people up.

This record plays as a chronicle of living in a world that's kind of in perpetual crisis —  both on a personal level and on the larger societal level. Where do you find hope?

Tucker: Music itself is hope. It's an act of hope to be singing, to lift your voice, and to have melody. The whole process of it is [hopeful] and that's really where it comes from, I think.

Brownstein: I try to think in terms of faith. What gives me faith, you know, what gives me.. a belief in wanting to be alive, wanting to protect the people I love, and to protect this planet and the people on it? And I would say that art is one of those things for sure. So I do agree with Corin because [music] is a lifeline that you send out to other people. If you're lucky, they take the other end of it and you get through things together. So I think being in a room, [sharing] art and shows with a bunch of people is very special. It's not that we took it for granted before, but now it just seems so miraculous. You look out at the rest of the world, and there's so much suffering… so just to bring, you know, 500 people together in a room, and have us all experiencing the same thing? That's nothing short of a miracle at this point because we don't really know where we're going to be tomorrow. So yeah, that gives me faith for sure.

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Credits:

KCRW Music Director: Anne Litt
Interviewer: Andrea Domanick
Director, Editor, Colorist: Angie Scarpa
Director of Photography: Kylie Hazzard
Camera Operators: Rachel Bickert, Kylie Hazzard, Angie Scarpa
Recording / Mix Engineer: Hope Brush
Recording Editor: Andrea Domanick
Assistant Engineers: Nick Lampone (Front of House), Katie Gilchrest
Executive Producer: Ariana Morgenstern 
Producer: Andrea Domanick
Digital Producer: Marion Hodges
Lighting Design: Jason Groman
Art Director: Evan Solano