5-4-3-2-1 (two)

two.
Sonic Youth
Rather Ripped

Sonic Youth were always a band I meant to check out and I know I would have worshiped them if I'd gotten in to them earlier. I bought a couple of their late 80s/early 90s albums quite a while ago and was genuinely impressed, but I've never managed to catch up. Every time a new album came out I kept prodding my fast draining mind with a spoon handle, but to no avail, it wasn't until the magnificent 'Rather Ripped' that I finally made the commitment, and oh boy (yes, oh boy) I'm glad I did.

The first voice you hear, about a second in, is Miss Kim Gordon's, and she's actually singing, quite a rare occurrence, my limited memory and even more limited knowledge tells me. This is indeed a good thing and she keeps it up through most of her vocal appearances on the record, contrasting nicely with the stoned & throaty stylings of Mr. Thurston Moore.

This is a great wonky, rocking pop album, not too experimental, but in no way ordinary. An array of stylishly duelling melodies, just the right amount of dishevelled tunelessness, this gang have aged like a fine (farmyard of) wine. Employing a varied palate of big choruses, quiet moments, fat chords & skinny guitars, there's a good balance of the slapdash and the skilled. It is, in fact, skill. There's a song here for everyone. Mine is the catchy 'Incinerate', guaranteed to get you jiving like John Prescott's wife, complete with strangely unflailing, angular finger movements.