Sonic Youth returns to form

Molly E. Pollard, Features Writer
Published On: 06/22/2009

In the years since Sonic Youth started releasing albums, they have experienced an evolution that is not common in the music world.

While other bands might change their sound over a 28-year period and attempt to experiment with different styles of production, Sonic Youth has kept very much the same over the two decades .

The release of their album, “Daydream Nation” in 1988 was considered by many to be the beginning of the grunge movement.

It was raucous and unforgiving, and now “The Eternal,” Sonic Youth’s 15th album to date, is making similar statements to a different generation.

One can’t help but admire their tenacity: the music industry is a different animal these days, and some could argue that the grunge movement ended with Nirvana, never to be seen again. Sonic Youth beg to differ.

“Sacred Trickster” starts the album off with two guitars, each slightly off-tune, playing single notes before the rest of the band comes in for a jam.

Thurston Moore’s vocals lend more energy to songs that are already full of sound.

His voice is slightly weak and his vocals are by no means perfect, but Moore seems fully aware of what his songs are fighting for, even when we are not so certain.

In “Antenna,” the song’s bridge is feedback, numerous detuned guitars, and drums.

The sounds are layered and deep, and it can be a challenge not to try to dig deeper than the surface.

Most of the songs follow the same pattern, but that does not mean that they are boring.

It is hard to stop listening once this record starts playing. Each song is like an adventure through sonic bliss. As such, the “sonic” in their band name is well-earned.

The band has established itself as a grunge group, and although they have wavered from that title slightly on some albums, they are at liberty to stay the same.

In the final song, “Message History,” Moore’s speech is almost unintelligible.

The song is soft in comparison to the rest, a huge change from the heavy instrumentation and loud vocals that inundates the rest of the record.

There is something to be said for a band that has spent nearly 30 years perfecting their craft, and, if “The Eternal” is any indication, Sonic Youth has done just that.

The music is ageless, and the band is one of only a few that has surpassed its own era – and era that it helped to create, no less – and kept going.

In a time when nothing is certain and things are changing at such a rapid pace, it is nice to have something like Sonic Youth.

One thing is for sure: if Sonic Youth keep doing what they do best, people are sure to keep listening.

Be sure and check them out in a rare Birmingham appearance at Sloss Furnaces, on July 12.

Email: mpollard@uab.edu