Dirty is commonly called Sonic Youth’s “sellout” album. Why, I have no idea, because this contains some of the band’s most abrasive material. I’m a big Sonic Youth fan, and the piercing noise some of these songs pivot around even gets on my nerves.

My primary complaint is that Dirty runs too long at just one minute under an hour. I also consider “Shoot,” “Nic Fit,” and “Créme Brûlèe” to be very forgettable songs. If those were removed and replaced with the excellent Lee Ranaldo B-side “Genetic” (which I cannot stress enough more than deserved to be on this album), Dirty would improve quite a bit.

In any case, there are enough great songs here to justify time spent, and another listener may find the abrasiveness of this album more inviting than I. “100%,” “Theresa’s Sound-World,” “Wish Fulfillment,” “On the Strip” and “Purr” are top-notch Sonic Youth songs, and I feel more may grow on me in the future.