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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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One Beat
by Sleater-Kinney
The acclaimed indie-rock trio from Olympia, Wash. return with their sixth album.
| LABEL: |
Kill Rock Stars |
| RELEASE DATE: |
20 August 2002 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Indie, Rock |
NOTES: Also available in a limited edition with bonus CD single. Also available on vinyl.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Sleater-Kinney... go for defiant uplift and seem energized by the challenge.
100
Blender
S-K swagger like they never have before, eschewing the filler that made their last few records drag. [#9, p.157]
91
Pitchfork
An uncompromising, energetic monster of a record.
90
Neumu.net
All of One Beat is strung loosely together by a common plea: for awareness, for understanding, and, most of all, for holding onto hope.
90
The Onion (A.V. Club)
For several albums now, Sleater-Kinney has shown eagerness to experiment, and it seems to be pounding at a wall, getting ever closer to the recording that will break it down. One Beat isn't quite it, but it makes a glorious noise in the process.
90
Dusted Magazine
One Beat joins the likes of Fugazi's In On the Killtaker and Bikini Kill's Reject All American for its impassioned new-world resistance, and could very well be the greatest triumph of punk independence since Black Flag.
90
Billboard
"One Beat" is so rich with strong new ideas that the dense disc actually takes some getting used to, a real accomplishment for a band some already view as an acquired taste.
90
Splendid
The album retains the trademark layered sound of earlier work, the dueling guitars, the wailing vocals, the powerfully musical drumming, yet it plunges into much darker territory than before.
89
Austin Chronicle
One Beat is the Portland, Ore., trio's best work to date, illustrating yet again that women can play and will be heard, with or without a political platform.
85
Stylus Magazine
By taking the visceral punch of Dig Me Out and The Hot Rock, blending that with the pop sensibilities of All Hands on the Bad One, and throwing in a few bonuses, Sleater-Kinney have crafted their best album yet.
83
Entertainment Weekly
There's lots for the lovers, plus some surprises that might win over a few haters. [23 Aug 2002, p.142]
80
Rolling Stone
Their riotous manifesto remains the same, but their musical dialect has expanded to include blues, soul and even traces of pristine Led Zeppelin-era metal.
80
Q Magazine
Sometimes an attitude, a thumping beat and an A-plus scream like the one Carrie Brownstein provides here are really all that's needed. [Oct 2002, p.117]
80
Village Voice
One Beat is ruthless with SuperGlue riffs that reach back a decade or more, from the Go-Gos pogo of "Oh!" to the stuttering Cure guitars of "The Remainder" to the Buzzcocks toolings of "Hollywood Ending."
80
Spin
One Beat's hooks require a few passes to take hold. [Sep 2002, p.127]
80
All Music Guide
The group sometimes sacrifices immediacy for angular melodies and riffs that don’t catch hold. On balance, though, One Beat’s musical progression is still extremely impressive.
70
New Musical Express
Few bands could explore motherhood and terrorism without making you want to shoot them: Corin Tucker's electric-shock voice and the adrenal guitars make them as essential pop topics as schoolyard crushes and backstreet drugs.
70
Mojo
One Beat is not an album you slip into. You pick it up, study it, twist it, put it down, pick it up again. [Sep 2002, p.108]
70
Uncut
Bright, socially and emotionally engaged, justifiably righteous in places, and not quite the right sort of fun for the New York scenesters. [Oct 2002, p.104]
70
Alternative Press
There's no absence of strong material here, although the sequencing feels awkward. [Oct 2002, p.94]
60
Magnet
The mixed results are troubling. [#55, p.86]
50
Drawer B
Sleater-Kinney’s weakest album in years.
The average user rating for this album is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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