"The Woods" reveals band's rock roots

Early reviews for Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods":

"'The Woods' presents a trio unafraid to ditch all that is atonal (which was getting stale anyway) and indulge in labyrinthine guitars, and weave in and out of melodies like a jam band Sleater-Kinney have never sounded so centered, nor so potent. A-"

— Entertainment Weekly

"It's taken Sleater-Kinney, three girls who set their fiery feminist ideology to a raw, screeching soundtrack, seven albums to discover the delights of a guitar solo — but it's been worth the wait."

— London Guardian

"?'The Woods' is a combat-hardened assault that draws inspiration from rock's Vietnam era 'The Woods' doesn't provide easy anthems; instead, it offers depth and socio-musical challenges. And in a homogenized world built for easy digestion, you just don't get more radical than that."

— San Francisco Chronicle

? "More than any previous Sleater-Kinney record, 'The Woods' reflects the classic-rock undercurrent that runs through the punk heroines' live shows. Ten years in, indie rock's reigning power trio is letting it all hang out. It's only rock and roll, but you'll like it."

— Rolling Stone

"Previous albums have never quite captured those onstage moments when the power they generate seems to catch them unawares, but on 'The Woods' you can hear not only the deliberation in Weiss' eyes as she ponders the exact placement of beat and crash, or Brownstein's bedroom-mirror rock-star poses, but also the stunned grin Tucker can never contain after emitting her most gravity-defiant shrieks."

— Village Voice