It’s not the same. We know it, and they know it. Sleater-Kinney have felt like a completely different band in the years since longtime drummer Janet Weiss parted ways with the group. These days, it’s just Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and whatever touring musicians or session people they’ve got working with them. But Sleater-Kinney have continued to crank out records and tour hard. In 2019, I saw them play their first live show since Weiss’ departure, and they were still fucking awesome. Last night, the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio audience got a taste of that.

Sleater-Kinney’s new album Little Rope is coming out next month. They recorded it with producer John Congleton, and it deals with heavy topics like the sudden car-crash death of Carrie Brownstein’s mother and stepfather. On Kimmel last night, the band played their single “Say It Like You Mean It.”

This time around, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker played with a drummer and two keyboardists, and I’m pretty sure that was Fred Armisen on tambourine. (He stayed unobtrusive.) Sleater-Kinney live shows generally don’t kick into high gear until the fourth or fifth song, but in the Kimmel performance, we still got to hear Tucker unleash her titanic voice and see Brownstein do some cool guitar-hero shit. It’s not the same, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Watch it below.

Little Rope is out 1/19 on Loma Vista.