Sleater-Kinney, Glasgow review - 'anthems with attitude'

Cult US rockers Sleater-Kinney celebrated their 30th year as a band with as much fire in their bellies as the day they roared out of Olympia in Washington State. Back then, they called it riot grrrl, a punky snarling kick in the patriarchy’s balls. While the music news of the day was all about the Oasis reunion, singer/guitarists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein professed their awe for opening act Gina Birch of punk sheroes The Raincoats, but they are now also the veteran standard bearers with a cathartic sound that lives beyond any underground scene.

There were spontaneous cheers for Tucker's still mighty, slightly mannered holler which sounds perpetually, thrillingly on the edge of unravelling yet always hits the mark. She and Brownstein are even better when they tag team in feral power.

With 11 albums to play with, they were not always about the attack, with their bandmates folding in choppy new wave vibes to create some fun momentum or flirting with synth pop before unleashing the piledriving drumming and fuzz guitar.

All Hands On The Bad One was quintessential riot grrrrl, an anthem with attitude about casting out evil before you’ve got your own house in order. Hunt You Down mixed unison vocals, hoary rock guitar and chunky synth chords, while Good Things reflected the Nineties grunge pop milieu into which the band was born. Modern Girl even provoked a lusty audience singalong to its pared-back guitar and melodica opening until the drums kicked in and they closed the main set with Tucker communing down in the crowd on the melodramatic Untidy Creature.

The encore finished the job, including the unfettered bellow of key favourite Dig Me Out and newer track The Center Won’t Hold, with Brownstein marshalling hard but controlled riffing and its backing vocals ringing out like a punky work song.