Sleater-Kinney’s new album, Little Rope, is out on Jan. 19 through Loma Vista Recordings. Today (Jan. 4), the duo released a Nick Pollet-directed video for their latest single, “Untidy Creature.” The clip features Australian freediver Amber Bourke, who holds her breath underwater through the video’s three-and-a-half minutes.
“‘Untidy Creature’ was the first song we wrote for Little Rope, although we didn’t know it at the time; we weren’t certain we were even working on another record,” the band said in a statement. “We also worried it had come too easy, the song featured two elements that come very naturally to Sleater-Kinney: a big guitar riff, an even bigger vocal. But as the year wore on, and our choices and bodily autonomy shrank, our feeling about the song changed. It became a gift, somewhere to put our darkest fears, and our deepest hopes. We sometimes feel trapped or angry, and yet still we breathe.”
Of the video, the band said, “We wanted imagery that spoke to the themes which permeate Little Rope: uncertainty, restlessness, urgency, all of the in-between and discomfiting states with which we’re forced to reckon. So, we came up with the idea of a woman holding her breath in a bathtub for the duration of the song, unsure of her motivations, not knowing whether she’s seeking escape, disappearance, absolution, or simply a moment of quiet and reprieve. We love the tension created by an act that defies both custom and comfort.”
Previously, the band shared singles “Hell” and “Say It Like You Mean It.”
Little Rope was partially inspired by the 2022 deaths of group member Carrie Brownstein’s mother and stepfather in a car accident in Italy. It’s the follow-up to the group’s 2021 album Path of Wellness, its second and final release for Mom + Pop. Last year, the duo also celebrated the 25th anniversary of its album Dig Me Out with a tribute album featuring St. Vincent, Wilco, Courtney Barnett, Low, the Linda Lindas, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Self Esteem, and Margo Price.
