The Woods (album)

The Woods
Studio album by Sleater-Kinney
Released	May 24, 2005
Recorded	November–December 2004
Studio	Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, New York
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	48:03
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Dave Fridmann
Sleater-Kinney chronology
One Beat (2002) The Woods (2005) Start Together (2014)
Singles from The Woods
"Entertain" Released: May 10, 2005 "Jumpers" Released: September 12, 2005

The Woods is the seventh studio album by American rock band Sleater-Kinney. It was released in 2005 on Sub Pop. The album was produced by Dave Fridmann and recorded in late 2004. The album received widespread critical acclaim.

Recording and production

The Woods was produced by Dave Fridmann and recorded from November 2004 to December 2004 at Tarbox Road Studios in Cassadaga, New York. Much of the album was recorded live in the studio, as Fridmann consciously attempted to approximate the band's live sound on the record. The vocals and some of the guitar tracks were the only overdubs. The final two tracks, "Let's Call It Love" and "Night Light", were separate tracks on record but were actually recorded together in a single 15-minute take, after Carrie Brownstein realized that the two tracks were in the same key and could segue into one another.^[1]

Release

The Woods was released on May 24, 2005, by Sub Pop, making it the band's first release on that label.^[2] Two songs from the album, "Entertain" and "Jumpers", were released as singles on May 10, 2005, and September 12, 2005, respectively.^[3][4] The album reached number 80 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart and number 2 on the Independent Albums chart.^[5] As of October 2005, The Woods had sold 59,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[6] As of February 2015, The Woods had sold 94,000 copies.^[7]

Composition

Musically, The Woods is an alternative rock^[8] album that takes on "steaming [and] swaggering" hard rock^[9] and noise pop^[10] with an arena rock^[11] sound.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	88/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Blender	[14]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[15]
The Guardian	[16]
Mojo	[17]
NME	8/10[18]
Pitchfork	9.0/10 (2005)[19] 9.4/10 (2014)[20]
Rolling Stone	[21]
Uncut	[22]
The Village Voice	A[23]

The Woods received widespread critical acclaim. Kyle Ryan, writing for The A.V. Club, described the album as "a quasi-psychedelic, classic-rock-sounding epic",^[24] while Keith Harris of The Village Voice praised Corin Tucker's vocals.^[25] Less positively, Q awarded the album two stars out of five, finding it "disappointing" when compared to their earlier work.^[26]

The Woods appeared at number four in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 2005.^[27] Pitchfork placed it at number 127 on its list of "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s".^[28] Similarly, Rolling Stone ranked The Woods at number 72 on its list of "100 Best Albums of the 2000s",^[29] and Tiny Mix Tapes placed it at number 89 on its list of "Favorite 100 Albums of the 2000s".^[30]

Track listing

All songs written by Sleater-Kinney.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Fox"	3:25
2.	"Wilderness"	3:40
3.	"What's Mine Is Yours"	4:58
4.	"Jumpers"	4:24
5.	"Modern Girl"	3:01
6.	"Entertain"	4:55
7.	"Rollercoaster"	4:55
8.	"Steep Air"	4:04
9.	"Let's Call It Love"	11:01
10.	"Night Light"	3:40

Personnel

• Carrie Brownstein – guitar, vocals
• Corin Tucker – vocals, guitar
• Janet Weiss – drums, harmonica, backing vocals

Technical

• Dave Fridmann – production, recording, mixing
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Jeff Kleinsmith – sleeve design
• Michael Brophy – album cover painting
• John Clark – sleeve photography

References

1. Vedder, Eddie (April–May 2005). "Divine Trinity". Magnet. Archived from the original on 2013-03-18. Retrieved 2014-04-07.
2. "Sleater-Kinney – The Woods". subpop.com. Sub Pop. Archived from the original on 2013-04-07. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
3. "Sleater-Kinney – Entertain". subpop.com. Sub Pop. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
4. "Sleater-Kinney – Jumpers". subpop.com. Sub Pop. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
5. "Sleater-Kinney – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
6. "Sleater-Kinney Postpones European Tour". Billboard. 2005-10-25. Archived from the original on 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2013-09-14.
7. Molanphy, Chris (2015-02-03). "Unfinished Business". NPR. Archived from the original on 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
8. "The Woods - Sleater-Kinney | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
9. Snapes, Laura (March 31, 2020). "Sleater-Kinney: where to start in their back catalogue". The Guardian. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
10. Hamilton, Jack (October 22, 2014). "The legacy (and return) of Sleater-Kinney, once America's best rock band". The Durango Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
11. Pitchfork Staff (October 2, 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 28, 2023. On The Woods, the trio rock out with their cocks out, embracing their inner shag-haired arena gods via florid guitar solos and thunderous low-end crunch...
12. "Reviews for The Woods by Sleater-Kinney". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
13. Phares, Heather. "The Woods – Sleater-Kinney". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
14. Phillips, Amy (June 2005). "Sleater-Kinney: The Woods". Blender (37): 114. Archived from the original on 2009-08-04. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
15. Browne, David (2005-05-23). "The Woods". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
16. Clarke, Betty (2005-05-20). "Sleater-Kinney, The Woods". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
17. "Sleater-Kinney: The Woods". Mojo (139): 108. June 2005.
18. "Sleater-Kinney: The Woods". NME: 66. 2005-05-21.
19. Deusner, Stephen M. (2005-05-24). "Sleater-Kinney: The Woods". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
20. Pelly, Jenn (2014-10-24). "Sleater-Kinney: Start Together". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
21. Ringen, Jonathan (2005-05-19). "The Woods". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2005-10-28.
22. "Sleater-Kinney: The Woods". Uncut (97): 107. June 2005.
23. Christgau, Robert (2005-06-27). "Consumer Guide: Sustenance Enough?". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2012-01-27. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
24. Ryan, Kyle (2005-05-24). "The Woods". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
25. Harris, Keith (2005-05-10). "Unsprung". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
26. "Sleater Kinney: The Woods". Q. No. 227. EMAP. June 2005. p. 118.
27. "The 2005 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. 2006-02-07. Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
28. "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 150–101". Pitchfork. 2009-09-29. Archived from the original on 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
29. "100 Best Albums of the 2000s; 72, Sleater-Kinney, The Woods". Rolling Stone. 2011-07-19. Archived from the original on 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
30. Vanderslice, Heidi (February 2010). "Favorite 100 Albums of 2000–2009: 100–81". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-10-14.