Sleater-Kinney were never going to go for the pop jugular half-arsed. In fact it’s been very much full-arsed, with Carrie Brownstein flashing her bare bum in the trio’s latest press shots. Their ninth album is no-holds-barred: slicker, sultrier, synthier, with producer St Vincent yanking their songs about the post #MeToo moment in some unexpected directions and injecting them with noirish electronics.

Drummer Janet Weiss, who left the band last month, clearly wasn’t up for the ride. Who saw the influence of Tool coming on the opening title track, with its metallic clangs and Nine Inch Nails-nodding lines like “I need something holy/ Give me a little taste”, punctured by a burst of eviscerating punk rock? Can I Go On is great but sounds a bit like… the Killers?

Hurry On Home is more classic S-K, as Corin Tucker snarks about overbearing partners, while the Depeche Mode-style of Reach Out suits them. Their willingness to experiment should have ended at Bad Dance, which is one tiny fascinator away from an Amanda Palmer cabaret stomp. It’s at times bewilderingly bizarre. The strangest thing about the album, however, is the nagging sense of try-hard: Sleater-Kinney have always felt effortless.