Sleater-Kinney, “Little Rope.”

When tragedy strikes and the harsh realities of life rear their ugly heads, the only thing you can do is decide how to move forward. That’s what Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein ponder the new Sleater-Kinney album, Little Rope.

The 11th studio album—the second since Janet Weiss left just before the release of 2019’s The Center Won’t Hold—marks a strong return for the band, which was uncertain it would make more music following 2021’s Path of Wellness. Produced by John Congleton, these 10 tracks explore a vast array of emotions, as raw and unrelenting as the artists behind it all. Little Rope is fiery, intense and demonstrates both the artists’ abilities and vulnerability.

In the wake of the sudden passing of Brownstein’s mother and stepfather in a car crash while vacationing in Italy in 2022, the news of which Tucker had to break, the pair came together and coped with the tragedy by writing about it.

Single “Hell” dives headfirst into the storm. “Hell needs no invitation/ Hell makes no fuss/ Hell is desperation/ And a young man with a gun,” Corin Tucker sings softly over a morose intro, before the song quickly picks up steam and she begins to belt intensely.

Sleater-Kinney helped pioneer the riot grrrl movement by writing about politics and feminism, seamlessly tying it all in with its punk sound. That flame is still lit on songs like “Dress Yourself,” which begins with a soft, nostalgic-sounding keyboard and bass line. “Get up girl, and dress yourself/ You close your love for a world you hate/ Stand up straight, and comb your hair …/ Give me a reason, give me a remedy/ Give me a new word, for that old pain inside of me,”  the two croon, insinuating that women cannot be reliant on anyone but themselves in times of trouble, and sometimes that means “fake it until you make it.”

The rebellion continues as Tucker and Carrie Brownstein are unapologetic and upbeat on “Needlessly Wild,” with deep distorted vocals and heavy drumming and guitar riffage.

The middle of the album suddenly throws things off key, literally and figuratively, with “Small Finds,” which begins chaotically with discordant guitar stabs and lyrics to match: “Tastes like liver/ Feels like love.” Love and the process of learning to love again, they seem to say, can be uncomfortable and uncertain.

“Six Mistakes” is reminiscent of the White Stripes with its heavy mix of drums and guitar but retains Sleater-Kinney’s undeniable energy, surprising you with eerie piano lines. “Who do you love more?/ Who do you want to see? I’m hanging on but/ Can’t feel your love for me,” the two cry out.

Much of the album focuses on the concept of time and being powerless to stop or escape the inevitable. On melodic rocker “Say It Like You Mean It” the inevitable is death, with an arrangement that takes listeners back in time and pulls at the heartstrings while still sounding fresh. “Lie gently with me/ All clocks have stopped/ Our minds they can’t reach/ All counting off,” they sing, voices buried under a wave of distortion.

It is no surprise, too, that through the pain of grieving a loved one, a sense of existential dread would follow. The angst and desperation to keep pushing through is beautifully portrayed on album closer “Untidy Creature.” At times sounding a little like a mid-aughts Yeah Yeah Yeahs tune with its infectious riff, it bares all as Tucker and Brownstein sing, “I heard the click of a tiny catch/ I closed my eyes and you found the latch/ I looked up and saw bars intact/ Locked up tight, the perfect trap/ I rattle and shake inside/ But I can’t escape tonight.”

Grief isn’t linear and the journey that Little Rope takes us on is a culmination of that intricate part of the human existence. To have control, we have to let go and trust things will come together in the end as they should.

Follow writer Vera Maksymiuk at Twitter.com/veramaksymiuk.