Delivered after a nine-year hiatus, Sleater-Kinney's eighth album finds the trio more technically proficient but with a revitalized vigor. Delving into post-punk dance beats following a flirtation with classic rock, the band veers closer to their Riot Grrrl roots without sounding childish, churlish or stuck. Forward momentum is the theme, as in how can we all do better, be better? Edgy opener "Price Tag" laments the heavy costs of fast fashion and other seeming capitalist bargains, while "Fangless" is a pre-#TimesUp strike against idol worship. But there's plenty of fun to be had, especially with the shout-along chorus of the title track and "Hey Darling," which finds Tucker coming on like Chrissie Hynde fronting a super-charged Pretenders. ("Gimme Love," meanwhile, unleashes the full force of her hurricane wail.) And, as always, the band stuns when Tucker and guitarist Carrie Brownstein trade vocals, as on "Bury Our Friends" — an interplay of harmonies circling and chasing each other in a march-worthy rallying cry: "We're wild and weary but we won't give in." © Qobuz