Not a lot of people here can say The Center Won't Hold is their first Sleater-Kinney album. If you're looking for seasoned insight, keep looking. I'm writing this to record my impression of what might be the last record from a band that, if what the critics have said is right, have been rewriting the rock playbook since their inception in the 90s. If you're looking for a voice from a new listener, and, dare I reveal my hand, a convert, read on.
I remember when Sleater- Kinney regrouped in ... read more
This was never supposed to be written. The Pumpkins weren’t supposed to come back. Not this well. Not the way we needed them to.
But they did.
The brainchild (and essentially moniker) of bandleader Billy Corgan, the Smashing Pumpkins released Adore, their last widely-beloved record, in 1998. The past twenty years have yielded little more than frustration for Corgan and his crew, a rotating cast whose brilliance never matched that of Jimmy, D’Arcy, and James, original bandmates ... read more