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Path of Wellness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Path of Wellness
Studio album by
Sleater-Kinney
ReleasedJune 11, 2021
Recorded2020–2021
StudiosHafling Studios (Portland, Oregon)
GenrePunk rock[1]
Length38:57
LabelMom + Pop
ProducerSleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney chronology
The Center Won't Hold
(2019)		 Path of Wellness
(2021)		 Little Rope
(2024)
Singles from Path of Wellness
  1. "Worry with You"
    Released: May 11, 2021
  2. "High in the Grass"
    Released: May 26, 2021
  3. "Method"
    Released: June 9, 2021

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] This is the band's first album since 1996's Call the Doctor to not feature their long-time drummer Janet Weiss, and their first album as a duo.

Release and promotion

[edit]

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".[4] Accompanying the album announcement was the release of Path of Wellness's lead single and music video, "Worry With You".[5] 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.[6] On May 26, the band released their follow-up single and video to "Worry With You", titled "High in the Grass".[7] 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.[8] The final single to be released in advance of Path of Wellness was "Method", which came out on June 9.[9] The song was accompanied by a Lance Bangs-directed lyric video.[10]

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.[11] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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".[14]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[15]
Metacritic78/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubB[17]
Beats Per Minute58%[18]
Clash7/10[19]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[20]
Exclaim!8/10[21]
NMEStarStarStar[22]
Paste7.3/10[23]
Pitchfork6.8/10[24]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStar[25]
Under the RadarStarStarStarStarStarStarStarHalf star[26]

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.[16] The review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album 7.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[15]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker.[27]

No.TitleLength
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

Personnel

[edit]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[27]

Sleater-Kinney
Additional musicians
  • Bill Athens – bass
  • Angie Boylan – drums on "Favorite Neighbor" and "Tomorrow's Grave"
  • Katie Harkin – background vocals on "Down the Line"
  • Brian Koch – drums on "High in the Grass," "Method," and "Shadow Town"
  • Vince LiRocchi – drums and percussion on all tracks except "High in the Grass," "Method," "Shadow Town," and "No Knives"
Technical
  • Adam Lee – engineering
  • John Goodmanson – additional vocal engineering
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixing on "Path of Wellness," "Shadow Town," "Tomorrow's Grave," "No Knives," and "Down the Line"
  • Matt Scatchell – engineering for mix
  • Cian Riordan – mixing on all tracks except "Path of Wellness," "Shadow Town," "Tomorrow's Grave," "No Knives," and "Down the Line"
  • Peter Labberton – mixing assistance
Artwork
  • Samantha Wall – original cover art
  • Karen Murphy – photos, design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Path of Wellness
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[28]22
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[29]14
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[30]46

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ↑ "Path of Wellness by Sleater-Kinney on Apple Music". Music.apple.com. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  3. ↑ Claire Shaffer (May 11, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Return With New Single 'Worry With You'". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  4. ↑ Skinner, Tom (May 11, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney announce self-produced new album Path Of Wellness'". NME. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney share new single Worry With You, announce new album". Louder Sound. May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  6. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (May 11, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Return With New Single 'Worry With You'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  7. ↑ Skinner, Tom (May 26, 2021). "Listen to Sleater-Kinney's riff-heavy new single 'High In The Grass'". NME. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  8. ↑ Ehrlich, Brenna (May 26, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Get 'High in the Grass' in New Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  9. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (June 9, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney release 'Method' as final single from new album". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  10. ↑ Blistein, Jon (June 9, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Ponder Love and Hate on New Song 'Method'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  11. 1 2 Kaufman, Gil (June 10, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Drop Brooding 'Method' Single, Announce Livestream Variety Show". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  12. ↑ Doria, Matt (June 25, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney release Amazon-exclusive EP 'Live At The Hallowed Halls'". NME. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  13. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (June 17, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Perform 'Worry With You' on 'Late Show With Colbert'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  14. ↑ Doria, Matt (June 10, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney share new single 'Method', announce livestreamed variety show". NME. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Path of Wellness by Sleater-Kinney reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Path of Wellness by Sleater-Kinney Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  17. ↑ Rife, Katie (June 11, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney's Path Of Wellness is paved with guitars". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  18. ↑ Wohlmacher, John (June 14, 2021). "Album Review: Sleater-Kinney – Path of Wellness". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  19. ↑ Murray, Robin (June 7, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney – Path Of Wellness". Clash. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  20. ↑ Hirsh, Marc (June 11, 2021). "Path of Wellness review: Sleater-Kinney finds the center again". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  21. ↑ Sylvester, Daniel (June 8, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Succeed in People-Pleasing on 'Path of Wellness'". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  22. ↑ Hunt, El (June 9, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney – 'Path of Wellness' review: rockers take direct route in tackling our plight". NME. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  23. ↑ Schonfeld, Zach (June 16, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Reinvent Themselves as a Duo on Path of Wellness". Paste. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  24. ↑ Kemp, Sophie (June 15, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney: Path of Wellness Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  25. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (June 10, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Roar Back to Life on 'Path of Wellness'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  26. ↑ Berlyant, Matthew (June 1, 2021). "Sleater-Kinney: Path of Wellness (Mom + Pop) – review". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  27. 1 2 Path of Wellness (CD booklet). Sleater-Kinney. Mom + Pop. 2021. MP535.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 18/6/2021 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 18/6/2021 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Sleater-Kinney Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2026.
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