[alyasa]

It's better than Sonic Nurse in certain aspects, I think. Maybe not overall a better album, that's too far-fetched, but I personally think that in the composition of the songs and the melody underlying each song, Rather Ripped has a sizable advantage. Whether this is due to Jim O'Rourke's absence is not entirely clear, but I'm sure it has, to some extent, an influence. I am implying the melodies and composition of Rather Ripped are more tightly focused and brought to the forefront more than on Sonic Nurse, which to me, focused on a rock groove atmospheric specifically, not to say that the songs on Nurse were sloppily composed, of course; far from it. It's just that with the lack of Jim O'Rourke's lush production; Rather Ripped has a more tune-y feel than Sonic Nurse. This might or might not be better, depending on where you stand.