One Beat - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Media response to One Beat was highly favorable; aggregating website Metacritic reported a normalized rating of 85 out of 100 based on 22 critical reviews. Robert Christgau, reviewing in The Village Voice, explained that Sleater-Kinney aim for "defiant uplift" and seem energized by the challenge. Neva Chonin of Rolling Stone pointed out that the trio's "riotous manifesto remains the same". Victoria Segal of NME stated, "Few bands could explore motherhood and terrorism without making you want to shoot them: Corin Tucker's electric-shock voice and the adrenal guitars make them... essential pop topics." Allmusic's Steve Huey commented that Sleater-Kinney sometimes sacrifices immediacy for angular melodies and riffs that "don't catch hold", but gave One Beat a rating of four stars out of five by noting that its "musical progression is still extremely impressive". Drowned in Sound's Becky Stefani indicated that listening to the record momentarily makes one feel that "all is well in alternative music". Douglas Wolk of Blender gave the album a maximum rating of five stars out of five by indicating that the band "swagger like they never have before, eschewing the filler that made their last few records drag".

One Beat was ranked at number five in the Pazz & Jop poll run by The Village Voice, which surveyed 695 critics to find the best albums of 2002, while The Boston Phoenix included it in its unnumbered list of The Best Albums of 2002. CMJ placed the record at number 6 in its Top 10 of 2002 list,. Spin ranked the album at number 12 in its list of "Albums of the Year" for 2002; staff writer Caryn Ganz praised it as Sleater-Kinney's "sharpest statement yet". Pitchfork placed the record at number 14 in its end-of-year list for 2002; contributor Brendan Reid wrote, "Years at the top haven't dulled their willingness to take risks, and that's just what they do, spectacularly, on One Beat."