Sonic Youth - EVOL - 1986 (iTunes - Amazon)
I'm not sure if someone had a little sit-down with Thurston and the gang but the first thing you notice from the opening strains of "Tom Violence" is that Evol might not be a travelogue of distortionary soundscapes but actually might have some promise.
The quiet desperation of "Shadow of Doubt" which builds to a nightmare is where I can tell that the band is secure enough in their storytelling and lyrics to allow the music to inform the song rather than the lyrics serving as a perfunctory necessity.
While Star Power goes on about a week too long, you don't really notice it. There is something, as I have said before, about the hypnotic nature of SY's music. It doesn't put you to sleep but it allows you to appreciate it and do other things at the same time.
The proto-punk beat poem In The Kingdom #19 by Lee Ranaldo is one of the best spoken word I've heard in a while.
I think special attention should be paid to the instrumental Death to Our Friends. A powerful and haunting, primitive and aggressive piece, I would like to see somebody choreograph something to it.
Lydia Lunch shows up again to co-write Marilyn Moore, easily the nadir of the album. But not even she can kill the glow on this offering.
The real gold is saved for the end. "Expressway to Yr. Skull" (aka The Crucifixion of Sean Penn/Madonna, Sean and Me)" is a post-punk, No-Wave rock epic. At 7 minutes it's a climb up Kilimanjaro and dive off into the great coral reef. Brilliant. Reeling. Slippery. Edgy.
Make no mistake. This is not a "rock album". It's barely a collection of songs. It's an evolution of the soundscape work the band has been mining for about a half decade at this point.
But, if you find yourself missing the old Late night radio show, "headsets." this is a great substitution. And a great place to start if you want to get into the Sonic Youth canon.
Grade A
A Side: Star Power, Expressway to Yr. Skull" (aka The Crucifixion of Sean Penn/Madonna, Sean and Me)
BlindSide: Shadow of Doubt, In The Kingdom #19, Death to Our Friends,
DownSide: Marilyn Moore
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