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Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth : EVOL

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Sonic Youth,
"Tom Violence"

Sonic Youth at a glance...

Hometown: New York, NY
Year Formed: 1980

Members:
Kim Gordon -bass, guitars, vocals
Lee Ranaldo -guitars, vocals
Thurston Moore -guitars, vocals
Steve Shelley -drums

Related artists:
Ciccone Youth, Two Dollar Guitar, Free Kitten, Lee Ranaldo, William Hooker, Velvet Monkeys, The Crucifucks, Cat Power, Nels Cline, Thurston Moore, In Limbo, The Coachmen, Mats Gustafsson, William Winant, J Mascis, Kim Deal, Pavement, Half Japanese, Mike Watt, Borbetomagus, Shonen Knife, Puzzled Panthers, Jim O'Rourke

Notes:
Sonic Youth rose triumphantly out of New York's early 80s No-Wave scene. Originally fueled by the ripping guitar of Glenn Branca alumns Ranaldo and Moore, Sonic Youth grew into - and maintain their stature as - a rock 'n' roll aural-experimentation unit beyond compare. Sometimes melodic, sometimes atonal, but rarely boring, the band have covered a lot of ground in its nearly 20-year history. From the early scene-splashing Confusion is Sex (1983) to the more polished EVOL (1986), the band's early evolution is apparent. 1988's epic Daydream Nation secured Sonic Youth's status as a legendary, visionary band which would forever leave its mark on rock 'n' roll. Subsequent albums and tours have served to bolster the band's popularity, even when not establishing any new plateaus of creativity. More recently, offshoot releases (like 1997's Perspectives Musicales series) have shown evidence of a continuing interest in experimentation. A perpetually active band, Sonic Youth will surely entertain and challenge for years to come.

Links:
Read Ink Blot's tribute to Sonic Youth, "Sonic Truth"
Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth
EVOL
SST, Released 1986; Re-Released Geffen 1995
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth

1986's EVOL finds Sonic Youth hammering their revolutionary ideas into some semblance of unity. Heretofore, they'd been ambling aimlessly through the same arty spaciousness composer Glenn Branca helped them pioneer in 1981. That style served them well for a time, but it wasn't until they began adapting their brand of amorphous chaos with traditional song structures that they would set themselves apart from New York's underground noise scene.

Steve Shelley's spartan drumming helps things along by patiently coralling Moore and Ranaldo's guitars into digestable portions. "Tom Violence" and "Death To Our Friends" provide whispers of the songs that made Sister and Daydream Nation such classic albums. Gordon and Moore reveal their obssession with morbid themes of death, murder and violence on haikus like "In the Kingdom #19" through detached, menacing oratory. "Expressway To Yr Skull" takes its dourer-than-thou attidude from spiritual cousins The Velvet Underground. The skeletal plucking of "Shadow of a Doubt," and the decidedly metallic "Green Light," with its furious whirl of guitar noise, explore the controlled chaos the band are capable of, but it's the singable bits than shine through and give the album its sonic adhesive.

Once this style had been found and exhausted on Daydream Nation, Sonic Youth could comfortably begin to deconstruct these ideas with new-found conviction and produce more recent beauts like Experimental Jet-Set, Trash and No Star.

If you like Sonic Youth, check out:
Sonic Youth Sister
Sonic Youth Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth Goodbye 20th Century
Sonic Youth Bad Moon Rising
Sonic Youth Dirty
Sonic Youth Washing Machine
Sonic Youth Confusion Is Sex
Sonic Youth Goo
Sonic Youth NYC Ghosts & Flowers
Sonic Youth Experimental Jet Set, Trash And No Star
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground And Nico
Blonde Redhead Blonde Redhead
Mogwai Come On Die Young
Nels Cline and Thurston Moore Pillow Wand
William Hooker Hard Time
Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Sonic Youth

-- p

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