Sonic Youth
Noah’s Barks pages relating to music artist Sonic Youth.
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Sonic Youth – “Goo”
Perhaps the apex of Sonic Youth’s output, "Goo" has the band reach equilibrium with listless noise, pop hooks, and their iconic, idiosyncratic style. (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Daydream Nation” (1988)
The youthful energy pervading much of Sonic Youth’s music spoke a lot to me in my early adulthood. Detached, rebellious, and a yearning to express some kind of stronger emotion that you’re not yet quite sure of. The noise sections have a reckless abandonment to them, but also seem calculated, fitting in with the songs… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Washing Machine” (1995)
Washing Machine is like, the exact definition of mid-tier Sonic Youth to me. That ain’t a bad thing; it’s Sonic Youth, so it’s still a good album, relatively speaking. But as a prelude to their post-90s sound, Washing Machine lacks an identity and strength when compared to their later refinements of that style. Even the… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “A Thousand Leaves” (1998)
Latter career Sonic Youth, meaning A Thousand Leaves sounds more melodic than their earlier stuff and has less of an attitude. That’s not a bad thing though, because the band has crafted some beautiful stuff past their heyday, and some of it’s on this album. The Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo tracks are consistently great… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “NYC Ghosts & Flowers” (2000)
NYC Ghosts & Flowers isn’t as bad as some reviews would lead you to believe, such as a particularly fucking awfully-written one that I likely don’t need to name. I believe it comes closest to matching the atmosphere of EVOL, something no other Sonic Youth album has attempted since. It paints a similar picture of a… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “EVOL” (1986)
Completely desolate. Wandering aimlessly through a seemingly abandoned, worn-down industrial city at the dead of night, from the streets above to the subway below and back home again. EVOL is Sonic Youth’s most atmospheric release and one of their absolute best. The whispering, anxiety-ridden “Shadow of a Doubt” is perhaps the greatest highlight. Kim Gordon’s… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Dirty” (1992)
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… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star” (1994)
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star is one of the only Sonic Youth albums I just cannot get into. There’s not even one song here I think is a killer and encourages returning to search out other highlights. I’ve listened to it more than once, but every time, I feel the album is overly… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “Rather Ripped” (2006)
Sonic Youth reached their peak when they learned how to work their experimental tendencies into the context of a good pop rock song. On Rather Ripped, the band hold back their noise outbursts and deliver 12 tight songs with pleasant, subdued melodies. This ends up working pretty well and creates several very listenable songs and… (read more)
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Sonic Youth – “The Eternal” (2009)
The Eternal isn’t a new direction for Sonic Youth, but who cares? The songs are great. They’ve got the accessibility of the songs on “Rather Ripped,” but combined with some easily digestible, noisy feedback. There’s some vocal interplay on some of the tracks as well; a great idea that should have been used more. It’s… (read more)