Wild Flag drops its first album

Wild Flag was unveiled in a pall of mystery in the fall of 2010. Little was known about the band other than that is was anchored by two-thirds of the rock offensive that was Sleater-Kinney, an Olympia, Wash.-based group that hailed from the '90s indie scene of the Pacific Northwest. The all-female group split in 2006, but not before defining the riot grrrl movement and providing an alternative to the male-dominated grunge scene.

Wild Flag's birth was announced sans music, and with a short news release that compared the group to the sound of an avalanche pummeling a dolphin. The ambiguity, however, wasn't for long. The band's self-titled album, released in September, is loud, assertive and lean. Its 10 tracks capture the unrestrained passion of the riot grrrl era, but do so with a mix of grown-up levity and confidence.

"We needed a no-frills, direct, energetic feel," said Janet Weiss, the rhythmic stronghold in Sleater-Kinney and now Wild Flag. "We needed a record that jumped off the vinyl and jumped off your speakers. It's very clear what's happening. You can hear everyone playing, and there's not much that's buried. This is bold."

In the track "Racehorse," vocalist-guitarist Carrie Brownstein -- Weiss' Sleater-Kinney partner, star of IFC's "Portlandia" and ex-National Public Radio blogger -- snarls, "What you don't know is me." The sludgy, adrenaline-building groovy punk stomper clocks in at nearly seven minutes. Throughout, Rebecca Cole's vintage organ serves as a bass, and guitar wrecker Mary Timony delivers garage-rock psychedelics.

Weiss said it wasn't until March that she began to "feel like we were really onto something." "We needed a gestation period," Weiss said. "There's no security in being in a rock band. There's not an idea that this is a band and we can go forever. The plan is to just get through the things in front of you and keep challenging yourself."

The members of Wild Flag, ranging in age from mid-30s to mid-40s, all padded their impressive rock resumés in the '90s indie scene. Timony steered the hard-hitting Helium, and Cole is a veteran of the more pop-leaning Minders. Weiss and Brownstein haven't played together since Sleater-Kinney split.

Weiss was aware there would be a "certain amount of eyes" on Wild Flag because of its members' pedigrees. It is, in fact, one reason why Wild Flag's debut was recorded live, with no studio finessing. It was intentionally conceived as a straightforward reintroduction.

"This is a document of a birth," Weiss said. "If I think back on all my favorite first records, they're usually direct. It should be a chance for the listener to get to know you."

WHEN | WHERE Wild Flag's eponymous album is in stores.

OUR SAY Here's what Newsday frequent contributor Steve Knopper had to say in his A- review:

Finally, Sleater-Kinney fans still grieving after the great Portland punk trio went on "extended hiatus" in 2006 have something loud, boisterous and melodic to celebrate. Although the new supergroup Wild Flag includes members of indie-rock bands Helium and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, S-K alumni Carrie Brownstein (now co-starring in the IFC's funny "Portlandia") and Janet Weiss are clearly directing this orderly mess. The guitars bump and shake, Weiss' drums bash and Brownstein screeches funny rock and roll things like "I'm a racehorse! Yeah, I'm a racehorse! You put your money on me!"

BOTTOM LINE Northwest punk-rock veterans give "supergroup" a good name.