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[PARENTAL PUNK] Collaboration cures what ails you. Corin Tucker took this for granted in the immediate wake of Sleater-Kinney's breakup, evidenced by the Portlander's introverted approach on the first Corin Tucker Band album, 1,000 Years. Newest record Kill My Blues feels like group therapy: An album about aging set to polished punk that emphasizes the band as much as its namesake.
Known for her clamorous guitar work and beautifully blown-out vocals, Tucker remains a symbol of fearsome rebellion. Yet, at age 39, she has also grown up. And her new band—made up of a who's who of Rose City rockers, including Seth Lorinczi (Golden Bears), Sara Lund (Unwound, Hungry Ghost) and Mike Clark (Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks)—has settled into its own.
Opener "Groundhog Day" is a microcosm of the record itself: subtly playful, like a shy child, while also being opinionated, political, even defeated. Maturity comes in Tucker's blending of pop and punk, such as on the spritzy "Neskowin" and the reflective, relatively sparse "Joey," dedicated to Joey Ramone. Sometimes her voice carries too much of the load, but for the most part, Tucker's emphatic nature is matched by equal instrumental drama. Lund's ever-accelerating drumming and Lorinczi's crafty picking are ever-ready, able to match Tucker's mighty, Pat Benatar-meets-PJ Harvey presence.
Studio tidiness runs rampant on Kill My Blues,
wiping down the fuzz and reverb for a cleaner sheen, but the album is
pretty only on the surface. Punk rock at heart but parents in truth, the
Corin Tucker Band still possesses the stuff to make you—and/or your
inner rebel—stage-dive.
SEE IT: Corin Tucker Band plays Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water Ave., on Saturday, Oct. 13. 9 pm. $12 advance, $14 day of show. 21+.
WWeek 2015