SONIC YOUTH - THE ETERNAL (Matador)

Sonic Youth formed 28 years ago in New York. When you consider that alternative rocks bands in existence for half that long are already considered the dinosaurs of their genres, it's amazing to think that any band heading towards it's fourth decade can release a record worth listening to more than once, let alone one that contends to challenge anything relevant today. The Eternal can do both.

The twelve tracks here offer a clue that the pop-rock oriented Rather Ripped from 3 years ago was a fun record to make. Meanwhile, certain moments scattered throughout The Eternal inspire the listener to believe that Sonic Youth's desire to experiment with what six strings can unconventionally do hasn't been left behind to the music they made before 2006.

With the lion share's of lead vocal duties, Kim Gordon still sounds charmingly lost as always. Yet, when she proclaims "I want you to levitate me, don't you love me yet? Press me up against the amp, turn up the treble, don't forget" in the opening track "Scared Trickster", the middle aged Gordon retains more sex appeal than any of the Mossharts and Winehouses in existence today. Thurston Moore hasn't changed much either - letting words hover on songs like "Antenna" as if sung by a too-scared-to-be-brave rock'n'roll nerd. On my personal favorite track, "Walking Blue", Lee Ranaldo sounds like a sedated Michael Stipe after a brief blues riff intro that recalls a slight Let It Bleed-era Keith Richards influence - easily forgivable when you consider The Stones experimented with alternative tunings decades prior and may be one of the unspoken influences on Ranaldo and Moore.

The Eternal is the first album under the Sonic Youth name to be released on an independent label since 1988's Daydream Nation. Choosing Matador as a new home, the veteran noise act have contributed to the irony that a record can actually be more accessible when released as an independent than on a major. Personally, this was the first Sonic Youth record I purchased at release date since maybe the Goo album in 1990. Since then, Gordon/Moore/Ranaldo have inspired hundreds of bands, many of whom have already grown stale and past their prime. With now 14 albums deep in their career, Sonic Youth proves the creative element is one too tough to die.


Click the above album image to buy the CD from Amazon.

Clicking >>HERE<< will give you a pop-up player where you hear samples from The Eternal

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