The Center Won't Hold
The faces of the band members in strips overlaid into one composite face
Studio album by
Sleater-Kinney
ReleasedAugust 16, 2019 (2019-08-16)
Recorded2018–2019
StudioHafling Studios (Portland, Oregon)[1]
Genre
Length36:16
LabelMom + Pop
ProducerSt. Vincent
Sleater-Kinney chronology
No Cities to Love
(2015)		 The Center Won't Hold
(2019)		 Path of Wellness
(2021)
Singles from The Center Won't Hold
  1. "Hurry on Home"
    Released: May 29, 2019
  2. "Can I Go On"
    Released: August 5, 2019

The Center Won't Hold is the ninth studio album by American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on August 16, 2019 by Mom + Pop Music.[3] The album was produced by St. Vincent and is the last album with drummer Janet Weiss, who announced her departure from the band on July 1, 2019, a month before the album was released.[4] Upon release, the album received generally favorable reviews from critics.[5]

Recording and release

By January 2018, the band was said to be working on their follow-up to No Cities to Love, though Carrie Brownstein has said that they're "going to do this very slowly".[6] Carrie Brownstein suggested to Jeff Tweedy that he produce some songs with the band but they began working with St. Vincent first and they enjoyed working with her so much that they decided to continue with her.[7] In January 2019, the band announced that a new album would be expected the same year, produced by St. Vincent.[8]

Singles

"Hurry On Home" was released as the album's lead single on May 29, 2019.[9] The band performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 19, 2019.[10] "Can I Go On" serves as the second single, impacting Triple A radio on August 5, 2019.[11] A promotional single, "The Future Is Here", was released on June 14, 2019.[12] The title track was released as the second promotional single on July 17, 2019.[13]

Composition

With The Center, Sleater-Kinney was credited with adding the explicit "artiness" of post-punk "to their punk roar."[1] It is also seen as a "sleek [and] sharp" fusion of industrial music and synth-pop.[2]

According to Janet Weiss, Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein made it clear during the making of the album that Weiss would no longer be a creative equal in the band and would just serve as the band's drummer. Upon completion of recording, Weiss felt reluctant to perform the album's songs live due to her lack of involvement in the creation process and opted to leave the band prior to the album's release.[14]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[15]
Metacritic80/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubA[2]
The Guardian[16]
The Independent[17]
NME[18]
The Observer[19]
Pitchfork7.9/10[20]
Q[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Uncut8/10[23]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, The Center Won't Hold received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 from 30 critic scores.[5] The A.V. Club included "Hurry On Home" as part of its list of the 30 best queer rock tracks of 2019[24] and reviewer Katie Rife gave it a positive assessment, writing: "Sleek and shredded, the song bears the stamp of producer St. Vincent, whose slinky sexiness collides with Sleater-Kinney’s heavy riffage with all the power—and entertainment value—of Godzilla battling King Kong."[25]

Upon the album's release, Rife praised the relevance of the songwriting and St. Vincent's production.[2] Comparing The Center Won't Hold to the band's previous albums, The Fader called the album a "beastlier-sounding record than any of those, with wide-open expanses full of slime and bile and some of the band’s most vicious lyrics, blown up to occupy every part of the mix".[7] In Uncut, Sharon O'Connell called it "furiously, vitally Sleater-Kinney".[23] Caryn Rose, writing for Pitchfork, described the production as standing out from the rest of the band's discography, but still keeping the elements they are known for.[20] While ambivalent about St. Vincent's "polished" arty production, Robert Christgau gave the album an A-minus and observed a hooky "musical efficiency" throughout, along with allusive political content "from its Yeatsian opener to a closer that invokes both #MeToo and Hillary '16 if you want it to".[26]

Kate Hutchinson of The Observer was less positive, suggesting that Sleater-Kinney is trying too hard, when they "have always felt effortless".[19] Writing for Tiny Mix Tapes, Jeremy Klein gave a mixed review, with a score of three out of five, calling the collaboration with St. Vincent ultimately disappointing and calling the band "lost" while giving a positive reception to several tracks.[27]

Track listing

All tracks written by Sleater-Kinney (Corin Tucker, Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein).

  1. "The Center Won't Hold" – 3:04
  2. "Hurry On Home" – 2:48
  3. "Reach Out" – 3:30
  4. "Can I Go On" – 3:30
  5. "Restless" – 2:41
  6. "Ruins" – 5:18
  7. "Love" – 2:16
  8. "Bad Dance" – 2:45
  9. "The Future Is Here" – 3:00
  10. "The Dog/The Body" – 4:22
  11. "Broken" – 3:02

Personnel

Sleater-Kinney

Technical personnel

Artwork

  • Clare Byrne – styling
  • Charlie Engman – photography
  • Humberto Leon – creative direction
  • João Moraes/Framework – art direction
  • Tina Outen – hair
  • Brian Phillips – creative direction
  • Kanako Takase – makeup
  • McLayne Ycmat – design

Charts

Album

Chart performance for The Center Won't Hold
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 34
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 147
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 73
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 9
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 64
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 83
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 45
US Billboard 200[35] 27
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[36] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] 4

Singles

Singles chart performance
Year Single Peak
US Triple A Songs[38]
2019 "Hurry On Home" 35
2019 "Can I Go On" 24

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Center Won't Hold – Sleater-Kinney". AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rife, Katie (August 14, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney is down, but not defeated, on The Center Won't Hold". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  3. ↑ Rife, Katie (June 14, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney announces new album The Center Won't Hold, produced by St. Vincent". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  4. ↑ Sodomsky, Sam (July 1, 2019). "Janet Weiss Leaves Sleater-Kinney". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "The Center Won't Hold by Sleater-Kinney Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  6. ↑ Blais-Billie, Braudie (January 10, 2018). "Sleater-Kinney Working on New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Ross, Alex Robert (June 14, 2019). "The death and rebirth of Sleater-Kinney". The Fader. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  8. ↑ Hilton, Robin (January 8, 2019). "New Sleater-Kinney Album, Produced by St. Vincent, Confirmed for This Year". All Songs Considered. KQED, for NPR. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  9. ↑ Moreland, Quinn (May 29, 2019). "'Hurry on Home' by Sleater-Kinney". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  10. ↑ Cush, Andy (June 20, 2019). "Watch Sleater-Kinney Play "Hurry on Home" on Fallon". Spin. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Future Triple A Releases". AllAccess. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  12. ↑ Zemler, Emily (June 14, 2019). "'Sleater-Kinney Preview St. Vincent-Produced Album With 'The Future Is Here'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ Shaffer, Claire; Reed, Ryan (July 17, 2019). "Hear Sleater-Kinney's Dark, Experimental New Song 'The Center Won't Hold'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (November 20, 2019). "Janet Weiss Opens Up About Sleater-Kinney Exit: 'The Roles Changed Within the Band'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Center Won't Hold by Sleater-Kinney reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  16. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (August 15, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney: The Centre Won't Hold review – fighting death with sex". The Guardian. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  17. ↑ Pollard, Alexandra (August 15, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won't Hold review: Anxious, pent-up and personal". The Independent. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  18. ↑ Hunt, El (August 15, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney – 'The Center Won't Hold' album review". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  19. 1 2 Hutchinson, Kate (August 18, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney: The Center Won't Hold review – trying too hard?". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  20. 1 2 Rose, Caryn (August 20, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney: The Center Won't Hold". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  21. ↑ Lynskey, Dorian (September 2019). "Brave New World". Q (402): 106.
  22. ↑ Hermes, Will (August 14, 2019). "Sleater-Kinney's 'The Center Won't Hold' is a Vital Response to a Disconnected World". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  23. 1 2 O'Connell, Sharon (September 2019). "Sleater-Kinney: The Center Won't Hold". Uncut (268): 18.
  24. ↑ Colburn, Randall (June 17, 2019). "From loud to loudest: The A.V. Club's favorite queer rock of 2019 (so far)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  25. ↑ Rife, Katie (May 31, 2019). "5 new releases we love: A sexy, riff-heavy collision, a bracing alté debut, and more". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  26. ↑ Christgau, Robert (October 9, 2019). "Consuemr Guide: October, 2019". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  27. ↑ Klein, Jeremy (September 2019). "Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won't Hold". Tiny Mix Tapes.
  28. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won't Hold". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won't Hold" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won't Hold" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won't Hold". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won't Hold". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  38. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney Chart History". Billboard. July 20, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
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