*** Sleater-Kinney, “All Hands on the Bad One,” Kill Rock Stars.

Looking for an antidote to pop’s cloying crop of girlie-girls and toy-boys? Get your mitts on this collection of, like, totally radical tunes, in which the Northwest’s famed feminist trio vents and philosophizes on subjects ranging from cultural voyeurism to heartbreak.

Somewhat abandoning the more complex melodies of last year’s “The Hot Rock,” Sleater-Kinney’s fifth album opts for a streamlined punk-pop drive that brings out the best in the players’ minimalist style. Yet, punctuated by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein’s trademark vocal give-and-take, the songs continue to convey the gut-wrenching emotions that first drew fans and critics to their Riot-Grrrl-powered camp in the mid-’90s.

Indeed, while the music press may have forsaken all that “year of the woman” hoopla for endless blather about teenage bonbons, Sleater-Kinney (which headlines the El Rey Theatre on June 6 and 7) isn’t about to stop agitating for a world (not to mention a rock culture) more hospitable to females.

The sober “#1 Must Have” takes that bull by the horns, addressing both the media distortions that doomed Riot Grrrl to cult status and last summer’s reported rapes at Woodstock. On the other hand, “Ballad of a Ladyman” defies gender stereotypes with merry disdain. Who says feminists don’t have a sense of humor?

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.