841. Dig Me Out - Sleater Kinney

A band that I'd never come across before despite their late-90s peak, their description in the book certainly intrigued me.

From the squealing guitars and desperation of Dig Me Out to the call and refrain of The Drama You've Been Craving, this is mid-90s post-grunge indie rock to its very core. The all-female trio had previously never hit the mainstream, but had a substantial enough following that sustained them to this, their third and breakthrough album. 

With two guitar-vocalists and a drummer, it is impressive how much energy they get into their songs. Not What You Want is a cracking example of this, with the two vocalists egging each other on, rather than detracting from each other. The slower numbers are less successful to my ears - Buy Her Candy and Heart Factory losing the energy with their more ponderous approach, although the chorus on the latter almost rectifies the situation. 

These numbers aside, there is a slight lack of variety here that means the album never quite soars. With so few band members it is probably harder to be musically flexible, bit it would have added something to proceedings. It is clearly an energetic and intense record, and has aged remarkably well in terms of the production, but it just lacks the level of imagination you get from the truly great indie records, in my opinion.

Chloe's album rating: 7
Chloe's favourite track: 2. One More Hour
Olly's album rating: 6
Olly's favourite track: 4. The Drama You've Been Craving 

Next week is 514. Architecture & Morality by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.