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Sleater-Kinney... go for defiant uplift and seem energized by the challenge.
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BlenderS-K swagger like they never have before, eschewing the filler that made their last few records drag. [#9, p.157]
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An uncompromising, energetic monster of a record.
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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All of One Beat is strung loosely together by a common plea: for awareness, for understanding, and, most of all, for holding onto hope.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Entertainment WeeklyThere's lots for the lovers, plus some surprises that might win over a few haters. [23 Aug 2002, p.142]
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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.
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SpinOne Beat's hooks require a few passes to take hold. [Sep 2002, p.127]
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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."
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Q MagazineSometimes 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]
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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.
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UncutBright, 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]
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Alternative PressThere's no absence of strong material here, although the sequencing feels awkward. [Oct 2002, p.94]
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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.
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MojoOne 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]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 35 out of 38
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Mixed: 0 out of 38
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Negative: 3 out of 38
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Jan 15, 2015
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TimE.Jan 13, 2005
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AndrewISep 16, 2002I think this is the most thrilling band in the world right now. This essential album might be their best, might not - does it really matter?