Sonic Youth show those young whippersnappers how it’s done
Bands like Sonic Youth tend to put me off before I even listen to anything. Not because of their music being bad, but because there is so much of it. Indeed, the few songs I do have by them I tend to like. I always find the task of exploring more to be a daunting one though given the amount of material they have put out. One day I’ll get around to explore them properly, but I’ll need to know where to begin first.
So when a Sonic Youth song pops into my inbox, like Sacred Trickster did, it gives me a slight kick up the arse. This is what I have been missing out on. The main thing that took me aback was how youthful it all is. This is not the sound you would expect from a band whose members are mostly in their fifties. This is the sound of a bunch of young upstarts breaking into the scene.
Most bands tend to lose their edge as they get older. Sonic Youth seem to have retained there. Or maybe they haven’t. Perhaps this works better for me because I’m not a fan in the first place. For all I know, hardened fans could be lament this as a tepid retread of their earlier work. It works for me though. Maybe not enough to actually start that exploration of their older work. But I’m a little bit closer to it.
The Eternal will be released June 8 on Matador.
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