CD of The Week

It's pretty rare these days for a so-called "supergroup" to be, well... super. Bands formed from the remnants of other great bands tend to coast on the good faith that they've built from their past projects without much in the way of evolution. Fortunately, Wild Flag is made of women who have never been content to coast. Sleater-Kinney and Helium were two of the most daring bands of the past twenty years. Now thatCarrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss from the former have teamed with Mary Timony from the latter (and Rebecca Cole of The Minders), they're all making new and exciting waves with their rollicking self-titled debut.

Echoes of Sleater-Kinney's soaring swan song The Woods ripple into this new endeavor beginning with opener and lead single "Romance." "Sound is the blood between me and you" doubles as both catchy chorus and a statement of purpose for these formidable rock veterans. It's jarring at first to hear Brownstein sing with the extroverted abandon that used to characterize her former bandmate Corin Tucker, but it suits her well, particularly on subsequent rave-ups like "Boom." Weiss keeps up her reputation as one of the best and busiest drummers in indie rock, anchoring the songs with her trademark fills and sugary backing vocals. She's aided nicely in the rhythm department by Cole, whose electric piano adds welcome tension and urgency to the proceedings. It's a testament to her skills that the most memorable sound in "Future Crimes" is her keys and not the vocals.

That just leaves us with Timony, who may very well walk away from this with the coveted secret weapon designation. For all of the buzz the Brownstein led numbers are (deservedly) garnering, Mary still knows how to crank out subtle stunners during her turns in the spotlight. "Something Came Over Me" sounds like a sunnier Sonic Youth, and patient centerpiece "Glass Tambourine" evokes the mythic symbolism and haunted lullaby lyricism of her best Helium songs. It's easy to see how she made a successful go of it solo before hooking back up with collaborators.

Wild Flag isn't quite up to the best works of its parent groups, but there's very little impeachable here. The band's chemistry is easy and palpable on record (and even better live), and yes, it's refreshing to hear all of these people actually making music again, all the better that it's together. There will still be people clamoring for Sleater-Kinney and Helium to unite, but plenty more will, or at least should, be perfectly happy with this.

Catch Wild Flag when they play Philly at Union Transferon October 19th.