The Corin Tucker Band

The Corin Tucker Band: Kill My BluesKill My Blues (2012)
Kill Rock Stars

Reviewer Rating: 3.5

Contributed by: JeloneJelone
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on September 18th 20121,000 Years found Corin Tucker stepping away from the big throated rock of former project Sleater-Kinney in favor of more introspective, folksy songwriting and world music experiments. That's gone now. Follow-up Kill My Blues is a full-on rocker, in league with SK's mid-period records like The Hot R.

1,000 Years found Corin Tucker stepping away from the big throated rock of former project Sleater-Kinney in favor of more introspective, folksy songwriting and world music experiments. That's gone now. Follow-up Kill My Blues is a full-on rocker, in league with SK's mid-period records like The Hot Rock and All Hands on the Bad One. It's back to basics and meant to be heard live.

With a full tour under way this time around, it makes sense that Kill My Blues would aim for playability. 1,000 Years was a great record, but it's something meant to be played alone, at home. Kill My Blues plays to Tucker's strengths: big guitars, big vocals. Yeah, it makes it easier to drop SK comparisons, but it also makes it easier to rock the heck out. Cuts like "Constance" and the title track are loud and lovely. If you want concise proof that Tucker was trying to write a fun record, consider the playful Spanish that opens track one, "Groundhog Day."

That all said, the Corin Tucker Band feels like they may have sacrificed something in the process. Blues is a solid reboot of a record, but 1,000 Years had all sorts of neat avenues to explore. While it could at times come off like a soccer mom record, it also packed heartfelt confessionals, soaring guitar solos and some groovy percussion. It was a multifaceted record that rewarded multiple listens. Blues isn't really like that (although dance-punker "Summer Jams" comes close). On top of the more standardized songwriting, some of the tunes also sound rote. Tracks like "I Don't Wanna Go" and "No Bad News Tonight" bash and crash, but they don't go anywhere. Blues is good, but it's also uneven.

All the same, Kill My Blues proves one thing: With Sleater-Kinney gone, fans actually get more music, split between Wild Flag and the Corin Tucker Band. While the returns are slightly diminished here, it's still a sound worth exploring.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

jelone (September 20, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUALb0sGdto

TheClash1977 (September 20, 2012)

what is "soccer mom" music?

WaitingtoHit (September 18, 2012)

I really hate how people who didn't get (or didn't make any effort to get) 1,000 Years try to label it as a "soccer mom" album. If you are any good at listening to music or appreciating art, then you know that most of the time you only have to be human to get something out of a work made by someone from a different background or in a different phase of his/her life than you. Of course, a lot of the people who try the "soccer mom" line of bull are probably also suburban white people who would claim they are capable of appreciating gangsta rap. Hypocrisy and lazy listening aside, the reality is that 1,000 Years is a deliberately personal collection of songs whose greatest strength is Corin's willingness to exude a bit more vulnerability than usual. It is basically a musical letter. It is similar to the Hot Rock in this way, and I remember how that album initially received a lukewarm response from some fans when it was released even though it is, along with the Woods, Sleater-Kinney's most complex work. Generally, fans' supposedly sincere criticisms of Carrie and Corin's recent output is really just them resentfully crying out, "Waaaah! Why isn't this a Sleater-Kinney song?" Kids, the lyrics to Little Babies are a metaphorical tribute to the fan/musician relationship; you weren't supposed to take them literally.

eatbicycles (September 18, 2012)

"Boom" is a bad Wild Flag song, but "Racehorse" is awesome.

Corin Tucker - I wanna hear this bad. Gonna make myself get it at her show.

ollywood (September 18, 2012)

1000 years is a soccer mom record, and I'm just not a soccer mom... This review has me pretty excited to give this a listen. Of the two songs i heard, one i really enjoyed and the other(groundhog day, i think) didnt do much for me. The review doesn't give me the highest expectations however my experiences are always better when I don't. Wild Flag is much more my styke however as good as their songs are they seem just shy of being great. But I nitpick, maybe its the count off on "boom" or "I'm a racehorse, you put your money on me," racehorse easily being the worst song in the S-K family catalougue. Or maybe I've just been too spoiled by Sleater-Kinney that I cannot listen to either musicians output objectively.