Sonic Youth Gossip - View Single Post - 09/03/06

Moshe · 09.05.2006, 02:13 PM

http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musi...ticleid=155899

Sonic Youth matures into powerful force
By Christopher John Treacy
Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Never mind the unexplained platter of condiments perched atop its sound system - Sonic Youth has finally come of age.

Fifteen discs and a quarter century into its career, the New York-based noise squad’s ‘‘Rather Ripped” is disarmingly listenable - not what we’ve come to expect.

The band’s sold-out final summer gig at Avalon on Sunday night focused heavily on new material, but Sonic Youth hasn’t sacrificed artistic integrity to make a pop record. Judging by the positive reaction of the crowd, its fans are on the same page.
What really came across Sunday was that post-punk is all grown up, and Sonic Youth is the best possible outcome. As if to underscore that fact, the Library of Congress has opted to include its 1988 collegiate breakthrough, ‘‘Daydream Nation,” in its permanent collection.

The reluctant power couple of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore alternated lead vocals and switched between guitar and bass, playing with a confidence and synergy rarely found in the avant-rock realm. Guitarist Lee Renaldo also got in on the musical chairs, occasionally playing bass and singing lead on ‘‘Skip Tracer” (from 1995’s ‘‘Washing Machine”) and ‘‘Rats,” while drummer Steve Shelley remained seated at his kit throughout.

Moore’s math-y ‘‘Candle,” from the landmark ‘‘Nation,” gave way to Gordon’s ultramelodic ‘‘Reena,” then back to Moore for the fiery clang of ‘‘Incinerate.”

Gordon has plenty of presence, made sexier by her seeming indifference to ‘‘frontwoman” status. Dressed in an elegant vintage champagne-colored satin dress (a cool contrast), she flailed, pogoed and shimmied whenever possible. Additional touring bassist Mark Ibold subsidized Gordon’s playing, no doubt a relief since she suffers from acute tendonitis.

The backdrop screen projected aerial images of suburbia for the charging ‘‘Teenage Riot” and a capsule of Prozac swimming in liquid during the gauzy, medicated textures of the eerie lullaby ‘‘Turquoise Boy.”

The urgent clamor of the closing song, ‘‘Shaking Hell,” foreshadowed that, most likely, this melodic pocket is merely a rest stop en route to some new noisy spot on Sonic Youth’s musically congested highway.

09.05.2006, 02:13 PM	#32
Moshe Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 5,863	http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musi...ticleid=155899 Sonic Youth matures into powerful force By Christopher John Treacy Tuesday, September 5, 2006 Never mind the unexplained platter of condiments perched atop its sound system - Sonic Youth has finally come of age. Fifteen discs and a quarter century into its career, the New York-based noise squad’s ‘‘Rather Ripped” is disarmingly listenable - not what we’ve come to expect. The band’s sold-out final summer gig at Avalon on Sunday night focused heavily on new material, but Sonic Youth hasn’t sacrificed artistic integrity to make a pop record. Judging by the positive reaction of the crowd, its fans are on the same page. What really came across Sunday was that post-punk is all grown up, and Sonic Youth is the best possible outcome. As if to underscore that fact, the Library of Congress has opted to include its 1988 collegiate breakthrough, ‘‘Daydream Nation,” in its permanent collection. The reluctant power couple of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore alternated lead vocals and switched between guitar and bass, playing with a confidence and synergy rarely found in the avant-rock realm. Guitarist Lee Renaldo also got in on the musical chairs, occasionally playing bass and singing lead on ‘‘Skip Tracer” (from 1995’s ‘‘Washing Machine”) and ‘‘Rats,” while drummer Steve Shelley remained seated at his kit throughout. Moore’s math-y ‘‘Candle,” from the landmark ‘‘Nation,” gave way to Gordon’s ultramelodic ‘‘Reena,” then back to Moore for the fiery clang of ‘‘Incinerate.” Gordon has plenty of presence, made sexier by her seeming indifference to ‘‘frontwoman” status. Dressed in an elegant vintage champagne-colored satin dress (a cool contrast), she flailed, pogoed and shimmied whenever possible. Additional touring bassist Mark Ibold subsidized Gordon’s playing, no doubt a relief since she suffers from acute tendonitis. The backdrop screen projected aerial images of suburbia for the charging ‘‘Teenage Riot” and a capsule of Prozac swimming in liquid during the gauzy, medicated textures of the eerie lullaby ‘‘Turquoise Boy.” The urgent clamor of the closing song, ‘‘Shaking Hell,” foreshadowed that, most likely, this melodic pocket is merely a rest stop en route to some new noisy spot on Sonic Youth’s musically congested highway.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|