[3] Vocalists and guitarists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein did not follow a set of blueprints when crafting the songs; rather, they simply worked off each other's input and proceeded in a piecemeal way.

One Beat was produced by long-time collaborator John Goodmanson,[1] who came from the same educational background as Sleater-Kinney and recorded with most of the acts signed to Kill Rock Stars.

[5] The album contains some of Sleater-Kinney's most polemical songs; "Far Away" explicitly references the September 11 terrorist attacks and contains criticism of American president George W. Bush.

[11] The song "Prisstina" features backup vocals, synthesizers and guitars by American musician and composer Stephen Trask.

In March 2002, Sleater-Kinney previewed tracks from One Beat during a series of U.S. East Coast performances and at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Los Angeles.

[2] At the start of August, the band posted the 12 songs as QuickTime streams on the Kill Rock Stars label website.

[15] To promote the album, Sleater-Kinney performed at a street festival in Los Angeles alongside Sonic Youth on the weekend of August 25.

The tour started with a concert at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver on September 11, which coincided with the one-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and ended with a gig at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, on October 24.

[16] 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, indicating "universal acclaim".

[17] Prominent music critic Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice, explained that Sleater-Kinney aim for "defiant uplift" and seem energized by the challenge.

[22] AllMusic reviewer 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".

[30] 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".

[35] Spin ranked One Beat 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".

[36] 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".