No Cities to Love is the eighth studio album by American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on January 20, 2015, through Sub Pop. It is the first album following a decade-long hiatus and the band's 2005 release, The Woods. The album received universal acclaim from music critics and was listed on several "Best Albums of 2015" lists.
Recording and release The album was recorded in secret mostly at Tiny Telephone in San Francisco, with additional sessions at Electrokitty in Seattle and Kung Fu Bakery in Portland. It was produced by John Goodmanson.
On December 22, 2014, No Cities to Love was accidentally streamed three weeks early by Sub Pop. As of January 30, 2015, the album has sold 28,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The video for the title track features celebrities singing the song, including Andy Samberg, Vanessa Bayer, Fred Armisen, Evan Rachel Wood, Connie Britton, Sarah Silverman, Norman Reedus, Miranda July, Brie Larson, Natasha Lyonne, Elliot Page, Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, and My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way.
In support of the album, the band toured North America and Europe. Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot listed the supporting tour as one of the winter's top rock shows.
Critical reception
No Cities to Love was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an average score of 90, based on 39 reviews. Los Angeles Times critic Randall Roberts said "the work commands attention", while Jon Pareles from The New York Times said it was "the first great album of 2015", full of "hurtling, bristling, densely packed, white-knuckled songs that are all taut construction and raw nerve". Robert Christgau gave the record an "A" and felt it may be Sleater-Kinney's best record, while writing in Cuepoint: "Honed back down to punky three-minute songs because the leisure to stretch out is a luxury they can't presently afford, the music carries the seed of tumult to come, the sense that something or everything could explode without notice just the way this album did." In The Observer, Kitty Empire said the band had executed "pretty much the most perfect comeback of recent years" and sounded "exactly as taut and emotive as they used to." Writing with high praise for Exclaim!, Chris Bilton called the record "a thoroughly raging collection of post-punk anthems that nudges up the powerful perfection of 2005's The Woods at least another notch." Music journalist Graham Reid said it had "all the stabbing energy of Gang of Four, the blazing passion of Siouxsie Sioux and the drama of Hole at their (rare) best". In an interview for Rolling Stone, musician St. Vincent said it was her favorite Sleater-Kinney record so far and "a crowning jewel in their legacy".
Accolades Publication Rank List AllMusic Best Rock Albums of 2015 American Songwriter 49 Top 50 Albums of 2015 The A.V. Club 2 The 15 Best Albums of 2015 Billboard 14 25 Best Albums of 2015 Clash 7 Top 50 Albums of 2015 Consequence of Sound 8 Top 50 Albums of 2015 Cosmopolitan 9 The 15 Best Albums of 2015 The Daily Beast 1 The Best Albums of 2015 Diffuser 6 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Drowned in Sound 9 Favourite Albums of 2015 Entertainment Weekly 14 The 40 Best Albums of 2015 Exclaim! 4 Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums of 2015 FasterLouder 4 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Gigwise 30 Top 55 Albums of 2015 The Guardian 6 The Best Albums of 2015 Loud and Quiet 10 Top 40 Albums of 2015 Magnet 12 Top 25 Albums of 2015 Mashable 21 The 30 Best Albums of 2015 MOJO 14 50 Best Albums of 2015 MusicOMH 2 Top 50 Albums of 2015 Newsweek 17 The Top 20 Albums of 2015 NME 13 NME's Albums of the Year 2015 No Ripcord 7 Top 50 Albums of 2015 Paste 4 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Pitchfork 27 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 PopMatters 16 The 80 Best Albums of 2015 Pretty Much Amazing 11 Best 50 Albums of 2015 Q 35 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Reverb 3 The Ten Best Albums of 2015 Rolling Stone 11 50 Best Albums of 2015 Rough Trade 60 Albums of the Year 2015 The Skinny 1 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Spin 11 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Sputnikmusic 7 Top 50 Albums of 2015 Stereogum 27 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Time 9 Top 10 Best Albums of 2015 Time Out London 40 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Treble 6 The 50 Best Albums of 2015 Uncut 23 Top 75 Albums of 2015 Under the Radar 17 Top 100 Albums of 2015 Variance 32 The 50 Best Albums of 2015
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from AllMusic
Sleater-Kinney Corin Tucker — guitar, vocals Carrie Brownstein — guitar, vocals Janet Weiss — drums
Technical personnel Greg Calbi — mastering John Goodmanson — engineer, mixing, production Thea Lorentzen — cover photo, design Mike Mills — art direction, cover photo, design Jay Pellicci — engineer Garrett G. Reynolds — engineer Brigitte Sire — band photo
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2015)Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 63
Year-end charts Chart (2015)Position US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) 75
References
Notes
Sources
Further reading
External links Sleater-Kinney "ask us anything" about No Cities To Love at reddit.com, December 2, 2014