Path of Wellness can't help but feel like the second act to
The Center Won't Hold, the 2019 album that found
Sleater-Kinney striving for something new with the assistance of producer
St. Vincent. Turns out the record title was prophetic. Not long after its release, drummer
Janet Weiss departed the band during preparations for the album's supporting tour, a split that happened prior to
The Center Won't Hold hitting stores.
Corin Tucker and
Carrie Brownstein carried on without
Weiss, creating a forward motion that stretches through
Path of Wellness, the first album the pair have made as a duo since their earliest days.
Tucker and
Brownstein's independence extends through their self-production of
Path of Wellness, a move that doesn't seem DIY as much as a measure of self-reliance. Certainly,
Path of Wellness is too polished and measured to be called a punk record; only "Tomorrow's Grave" bristles with the squall of overdriven guitars. Hearing
Sleater-Kinney wrestle with mature accomplishment can result in moments of cognitive dissonance, as the rhythms are rounded and the vocals are over-articulated, but these awkward passages are what give
Path of Wellness spark.
Tucker and
Brownstein are in the process of figuring out what
Sleater-Kinney can do as middle-aged indie survivors, trading their signature catharsis for reflection and mild experimentation. They haven't landed on a solution, but listening to the duo lost within their process is rewarding, feeling emotionally direct even when the angles are somewhat obtuse. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine