Dig Me Out | ||||
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Studio album by Sleater-Kinney | ||||
Released | April 8, 1997 | |||
Recorded | December 1996 – January 1997 at John and Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington |
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Genre | Punk rock | |||
Length | 36:34 | |||
Label | Kill Rock Stars | |||
Producer | John Goodmanson | |||
Sleater-Kinney chronology | ||||
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Singles from Dig Me Out | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
Los Angeles Times | |
NME | 8/10 |
Pitchfork Media | 9.3/10 |
Rolling Stone | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Spin | 9/10 |
The Village Voice | A |
Dig Me Out is the third studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on April 8, 1997, by Kill Rock Stars. The album was produced by John Goodmanson and recorded from December 1996 to January 1997 at John and Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington. Dig Me Out marked the debut of Janet Weiss, who is the band's longest serving and current drummer. The music on the record was influenced by traditional rock and roll bands, while the lyrics deal with issues of heartbreak and survival.
Two singles were released in support of the album: "One More Hour" and "Little Babies". The title track "Dig Me Out" peaked at number six on the KEXP Top 90.3 Album Chart in 1997 without being released as a single. The album received substantial acclaim from music critics, who praised the album's energy and feminist lyrics. Dig Me Out is included on several publications' best album lists. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 272 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Dig Me Out is the follow-up to Sleater-Kinney's highly acclaimed second album Call the Doctor, released in 1996 by the queercore independent record label Chainsaw Records. Call the Doctor confirmed the band's reputation as one of the major musical acts from the Pacific Northwest, rebelling against gender roles, consumerism, and indie rock's male-dominated hierarchy. After the release of Call the Doctor, drummer Janet Weiss of Quasi joined the band. Previously, the band had had a number of temporary drummers, including Misty Farrell, Lora Macfarlane, and Toni Gogin. Weiss would eventually become Sleater-Kinney's longest serving and current drummer. For its third album, Sleater-Kinney worked again with producer John Goodmanson. The band left Chainsaw Records and decided to release the album through Kill Rock Stars, another independent record label which singer and guitarist Corin Tucker thought had better resources to ensure the band's distribution. Goodmanson also remarked that Kill Rock Stars afforded the band a generous amount of studio time for an independent label, stating that Call the Doctor only took four days to record while Dig Me Out was recorded over the period of eight days.