Sonic Youth
May 22, 2009
Oh lordy, Sonic Youth going through the motions? A boring Sonic Youth record? I thought we were past “Dirty” Sonic Youth. Why do you want to hurt me so? That little outburst out of the way, let’s talk about this record.. It feels extremely directionless.. I mean, if I was starved for SY’s brand of rock right now I’m sure I’d be receiving this better.. but I’m not. If I could point you in the general direction of Intelligence, Magik Markers and Micachu and the Shapes you’ll notice one thing: All of these bands are doing ‘noise’ rock better than Sonic Youth, and I really hate saying that as a long time SY fan.. I miss the clarity and aim of “Rather Ripped”. I miss the Sonic Youth that gave me records that were interesting. This is Sonic Youth going through the motions. Nothing special here.
Points:
What I adored about “Rather Ripped” was the clarity and drive it had, it was a clean, mature step in a new direction for Sonic Youth.. Here, they’ve taken two steps back for the step forward they took with “Rather Ripped”. By all means, I’m not insulting the album for not continuing in the direction “Rather Ripped” took, I’m insulting the album for leaning back in the comfort zone and not taking a single risk. I mean, it’s textbook Sonic Youth.. It’s throwaway at best for them..
It’s funny that Thurston Moore considers the last few SY records throwaways, because on “Sonic Nurse” and “Rather Ripped”.. they deviated from formula, took a risk and stuck with it. On “The Eternal”, it’s just another Sonic Youth record, and not a strong one either. “The Eternal” lacks the stand-out moments that make by the books SY records like “Murray Street” shine and it lacks identity within Sonic Youth’s canon.. In four years, no one’s going to be holding “The Eternal” in the same regard they hold “Sister” or “Daydream Nation” or even “Goo”. It’s because this is ‘just another Sonic Youth record’ and not a strong one at that.
For all that.. “The Eternal” isn’t some kind of rotting carrion beast, it’s still a Sonic Youth record, and while I doubt I’ll ever spin a few choice singles off of it in the future. It sounds so whiny to say this, but is this really the record I anticipated for 3 years happily taking whatever SYR series Sonic Youth released hoping for a new Sonic Youth record to come along? Sadly, “The Eternal” is what I got.. and “The Eternal” leaves me with the musical equivalent of blue balls.
