The last time Sleater-Kinney released a lead single from a new album, in 2019, life looked a bit different. Besides the obvious, there were no divisive opinions yet about the sleek, St. Vincent-helmed production style of The Center Won’t Hold, nor the exit of longtime drummer Janet Weiss over shifting creative roles. If that LP’s “Hurry On Home” was an insatiable plea to get back in bed, a horny, hard-edged celebration of hiding out with a lover when the world gets bad, then Path of Wellness lead single “Worry With You” is its wholesome, Covid-era twin: a lovingly codependent couple just riding life’s highways, armed with good, vaguely psychedelic vibes. “If I’m gonna worry, I’m gonna worry with you,” Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker sing in unison, atop some of the breeziest melodies of their career.

This is a band often defined by its sharp angles and clashing urgency, a sensibility that tends to carry over into even its catchiest songs. While the quick flashes of squirminess and swaggering guitar riffs throughout add personality, “Worry With You” feels almost like background music in the context of S-K’s explosive catalog—the kind of song that could soundtrack a hopeful couples montage in the TV dramedies that Brownstein directs, or feature on some kind of lifestyle-indie playlist. “Let’s get lost baby/And take a wrong turn/That’s the life, that’s the life/We never ever wanna get burned,” they sing in the chorus, sounding cheerful. We shall see where this particular turn takes one of the best rock bands to ever do it.