Sleater-Kinney share new single ‘Can I Go On’ – The Center Won’t Hold out Friday 16 August

Sleater-Kinney share ‘Can I Go On,’ the fourth track to be released from their highly anticipated new studio album, The Center Won’t Hold, out Friday 16 August via Milk! Records / Remote Control Records. 

‘Can I Go On’ pulls the listener in with its upbeat, hooky guitar riffs and catchy chorus, but delivers a contrastingly pained message of existential despair; “Sell our rage, buy and trade, but we still cry for free every day…… maybe I’m not sure I wanna go on at all.” Carrie Brownstein (guitar/vocals) explains, “In this song, a woman’s desire is used against her, so she turns it into a sinister infectiousness. The narrator finds herself on the brink of self-annihilation, grappling with the paradox of an internal darkness at odds with the pressure to outwardly perform modes of joy, relatability, and likability.” SiriusXMU exclusively world premiered ‘Can I Go On’ earlier today ahead of its wide release, giving fans an early preview of the band’s latest offering.

Musically, ‘Can I Go On’ feels lighter, although no less exhilarating, than the previous songs shared from the forthcoming The Center Won’t Hold, including the critically lauded ‘Hurry On Home,’ ‘The Future is Here’ and the title track.  Of the latter, NPR said “‘The Center Won’t Hold’ certainly deconstructs the Sleater-Kinney sound, but still understands the push-and-pull dynamic that has defined the band for so long,” while Brooklyn Vegan said “it’s a dark art-rock song, very different from the previous two singles and different from pretty much anything the band has done before. It’s more proof that this album has plenty of unexpected tricks up its sleeve.” 

Sleater-Kinney’s tenth new album, produced by St. Vincent, is a personal and political record, which feels fitting as the feminist icons set a new bar for punk’s political insight and emotional impact. Now, at the height of their formidable powers, Brownstein and Corin Tucker (guitar/vocals) continue to challenge themselves, break all the rules and push boundaries.  Paper Magazine recently noted, “For decades Sleater-Kinney have created music narrating the ins and outs of being a woman in American society. In a time where accused sexual predators run the highest office in the land and sit on Supreme Court benches making increasingly punitive decisions affecting women’s autonomy and overall existence, the band’s key messages have never felt more prevalent than this moment.”

Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold

1. The Center Won’t Hold
2. Hurry On Home
3. Reach Out
4. Can I Go On
5. Restless
6. Ruins
7. LOVE
8. Bad Dance
9. The Future Is Here
10. The Dog/The Body
11. Broken

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