{"id":2881,"date":"2019-11-20T11:34:51","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T19:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/?p=2881"},"modified":"2019-12-30T21:58:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T05:58:16","slug":"albums-of-the-teens-i-guess-surprise-me-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billchapin.net\/allthecitylights\/2019\/11\/albums-of-the-teens-i-guess-surprise-me-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"“Albums of the … Teens, I guess?”: Surprise me, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Jason Isbell enraptures the crowd at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, Calif., on June 8, 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we speed headlong into the second half of the decade, pleasant surprises abound. Among other things, for me, 2015 is proof that bands I’ve somehow managed to avoid can prove even better than expected, that singer-songwriters I’d admired for years could still blow me away, and still leave room for a talented newcomer. Let’s get ready to get down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Cities to Love, <\/em><\/strong>Sleater-Kinney<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Released: Jan. 20, 2015<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confession time. OK. Deep breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I missed Sleater-Kinney the first time around. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like, I knew the Pacific Northwest, female trio existed and were beloved and probably up my alley, but I’d listened to approximately zero minutes of the band’s pre-Portlandia<\/em> material when this here reunion album came out. The only advantage this grants me is that I was able to listen to No Cities to Love <\/em>with no expectations or fan baggage\u2014just approach it on it’s own terms. And guess what? It’s great! It rocks! Hard! It’s political, and its righteous anger directed at widening wealth inequality, among other things, feels very “of the moment.” For folks who <\/strong>… brought their protractor, because there’s an awful lot of angular guitar work here. Moment that gets me every time: <\/strong>“Scrambled eggs, for little legs” is such an amusing, perfect little snapshot of what it’s like to get the family out the door in the mornings. If you listen to just one song:<\/strong> “Surface Envy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n