When Sleater-Kinney split in 2006, they left an era-defining, seven-album legacy – recently reissued as a box set – that tackled everything from the commercialisation of feminism to 9/11 with a ferocious defiance. They were also experts at shaking up the machismo of classic rock: they paid homage to Springsteen, the Clash and the Who, and wrote big, stomping anthems that made it OK for young feminists to believe in the notion of rock’n’roll as saviour. In turn, they became girl-rock icons that boys adored, too. Eight years later, the reformed trio have lost none of their fire. No Cities to Love is a towering, fists-up record of thundering guitars and soaring hooks – from Price Tag’s rally against consumerism to Bury Our Friends’ grownup anxieties. As they put it on No Anthems: “I want an anthem/ An answer and a force/ A weapon, not violence, a power source” – and that’s exactly what No Cities gives us, 10 times over. All hail Sleater-Kinney: as riotous and vital as ever.
