New album: No Cities To Love
Artist: Sleater-Kinney
Label: Sub Pop
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
After a decade up on the blocks, sort-of punks Sleater-Kinney get rolling again with “No Cities To Love.”
During their time off the band members formed musical side projects, and vocalist/guitarist Carrie Brownstein even had time to co-create and star in the IFC hit “Portlandia.” Judging by the sound of “No Cities To Love,” the time apart did the band well.
The angular, razor-sharp guitar line in “Fangless” is a testament to Sleater-Kinney’s undiminished energy and abhorrence of traditional rock patterns — and maybe a fondness for Nels Cline. The snarling guitar figures for “No Anthems” and “A New Wave” are equally ferocious, even if the songs aren’t necessarily all that memorable.
“Gimmie Love” ups the hook factor a bit, and it has to be said that Brownstein, drummer Janet Weiss and vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker have matured into a real knuckle buster of a band. The band is as ferocious as ever on “No Cities To Love,” and if there is a difference from previous efforts it’s that this seems to be a more purpose-driven ferocity. Songs with choruses as brilliant as “Hey Darling” must be delivered with adequate wallop.
It’s always good to sample a groups early work, but “No Cities To Love” could be a great gateway into the Sleater-Kinney universe for anyone who is curious.
Classic album: It’s My Thing
Artist: Marva Whitney
Label: Soul Brother
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Marva Whitney was a singer in James Brown’s band in the late 1960s. In 1969, she released “It’s My Thing,” which was produced by James Brown and featured his band.
Between producing, writing credits and singing on the CD release bonus track “Sunny,” this could be regarded as a lost/rare James Brown album — but Whitney is too strong a talent for that to happen. Her bold vocals on the title track alone prove she was an artist with talent and charisma to burn.
Heaven knows how James Brown found his musicians, but every one of them — including Whitney — seem almost untouchable all these decades after the fact. Whitney tackles the blistering funk of “Unwind Yourself” with the same fervor as, well, James Brown. Whitney also carried the ballad “If You Love Me” as well as Aretha Franklin, and her duet with Brown on “Sunny” shows she was no stranger to jazz either.
Besides being a bit of a lost soul classic, the “It’s My Thing” album has been massively influential on modern music as well.
According to www.WhoSampledWho.com, music and vocals from “It’s My Thing” have been sampled by Public Enemy, EPMD, N.W.A, Ice Cube, Mac Miller, Sway and Wu Tang Clan — just to name a few.
It’s beyond criminal that Marva Whitney never became a superstar, but she was as good as anybody else as “It’s My Thing” will attest.
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Jon Dawson’s album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com