Path of Wellness can't help but feel like the second act to The Center Won't Hold, the 2019 album that found Sleater-Kinney striving for something new with the assistance of producer St. Vincent. Turns out the record title was prophetic. Not long after its release, drummer Janet Weiss departed the band during preparations for the album's supporting tour, a split that happened prior to The Center Won't Hold hitting stores. Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein carried on without Weiss, creating a forward motion that stretches through Path of Wellness, the first album the pair have made as a duo since their earliest days. Tucker and Brownstein's independence extends through their self-production of Path of Wellness, a move that doesn't seem DIY as much as a measure of self-reliance. Certainly, Path of Wellness is too polished and measured to be called a punk record; only "Tomorrow's Grave" bristles with the squall of overdriven guitars. Hearing Sleater-Kinney wrestle with mature accomplishment can result in moments of cognitive dissonance, as the rhythms are rounded and the vocals are over-articulated, but these awkward passages are what give Path of Wellness spark. Tucker and Brownstein are in the process of figuring out what Sleater-Kinney can do as middle-aged indie survivors, trading their signature catharsis for reflection and mild experimentation. They haven't landed on a solution, but listening to the duo lost within their process is rewarding, feeling emotionally direct even when the angles are somewhat obtuse. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

1		Path of Wellness
2		High in the Grass
3		Worry With You
4		Method
5		Shadow Town
6		Favorite Neighbor
7		Tomorrow's Grave
8		No Knives
9		Complex Female Characters
10		Down the Line
11		Bring Mercy

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