E.V.O.L.

Meh. It's just sloppy noise-rock. There are so many Sonic Youth albums on this list. I don't get what all the fuss is about.

If I could mould an unsuspecting youth into doing every dark desire I have, then this record would certainly be the gritty soundtrack that accompanied all of the sick things I would conjure up. It should act as a warning to anyone under the age of 16. Stay clear of me. I'm dangerous. But that's what you like about me, isn't it?

Someone should create a list of 1001 albums you don’t need to hear before you die and put this on it.

Three albums in Sonic Youth were well on the way to EVOLving a sound utterly unique to Sonic Youth. The underlying outbursts of pop, whilst present, are buried way deeper in the mix here than on later records, it's very much more Black Flag less Madonna. To an extent, it makes perfect sense that the album was released on SST alongside the likes of Husker Du and Minutemen but the sheer avant-garde-ness at the centre of Sonic Youth makes this so much more EVOLved than any of the other post-hardcore Greg Ginn was releasing at the time. It's an album of screeching guitars and spoken word surrealism, it's dark and sinister, it's dense and difficult "anti-rock", it's walls of noise with the very occasional outbreak of beauty. It's very fucking good.

Nostalgic, listened to a lot of SY as a teenager, though not this album. Shoegaze-y and gothic at times (Marilyn Moore), melodic, driving and uplifting others (Madonna...). Love the interesting noises, distortions and discords.

Friend of mine in high school was very into them. I always found them to be dissonant, noisy, atonal, and high on their own supply......I still do John....I still do....

This is the 5th Sonic Youth album. This is unnecessary. The album was not good. Parts were ok. Overall just a waste of time. No need to listen and certainly did not need to be on this list.

Ugh, this was awful, and disappointing considering I liked the only Sonic Youth song I previously knew (Kool Thing). Off-key vocals, out of tune instruments, a lot of just droning, trying to be artsy(?) It was just a bore. The one decent song, "Bubblegum" doesn't save it from a 1/5. I'm afraid there will be more of this band on the list.

ANOTHER SONIC YOOT? PLEASE.

You know, it bothers me that people use “art” as a pejorative when it comes to rock/popular music. You’ve seen it on this site, I’m sure. “Pretentious” or “arty” get thrown around a lot for records like this one. Why exactly is it a bad thing for a band to treat something that they have created as a work of art or feel like it is important? Surely, you might do the same with something you’ve created? …and why is it that you typically only see “art” used as a negative when the work in question is outside of generally accepted norms or “abstract”. The Beatles are considered the among greatest artists in all of music, while Sonic Youth as artists are “pretentious”….but if they both draw influence from Karlheinz Stockhausen, for example, doesn’t the distinction between the two become hazy? Is it because one doesn’t sound “pretty” or isn’t “constructed” enough? Does a rejection of tradition in favor of exploration and invention make something “pretentious”? I honestly would like to know, because that word gets thrown around so much and it’s usually presented without any qualifiers… I get it, art can have a high barrier for entry, it sometimes requires previous knowledge or points of reference in order to consume it. It can be challenging or jarring and might not be easily accessible at first listen or glance. Luckily for all of us, the barrier for entry to knowledge is at an all time low for humanity. With the tap of a few buttons we can access the entirety of recorded human history. It requires initiative and a desire to better understand the world around you, but it’s there, free for the taking. As an example, you can make a connection between Sonic Youth and Steve Reich based off of the opening of “Shadow of a Doubt”. I mean, I didn’t know it the first time i heard it years ago, but as I delved deeper into Sonic Youth and some of their influences, that connection became apparent. For me, it’s pretty easy to appreciate how a band could take minimalism, which is considered a very academic form of music, and turn it into something that is inline with rock music. In fact, that seems like the opposite of pretension: taking a form of music that is seen as haughty or scholastic and filtering it through a more mainstream, accessible medium like rock. I’m not saying you need to do your homework and then you’ll get Sonic Youth. If you don’t like them, it’s fine - I don’t expect to change any minds, especially not by making comparisons to Reich and Stockhausen. I’m just saying that it wouldn’t hurt if we were all a little more curious about the world around us, rather than being instantly put off by things we might not understand. …and that concludes my most pretentious review to date.

If you've never listened to EVOL before, start with those lyrics excerpts: "My violence is the number Coming out of prayer Find it in the father Find it in a girl There's a thing in my memory Holding on for dear life With a feeling of secrets Beating up under my flesh My tongue is tied I'm sleeping nights awake Tom Violence is a dream Coming out of a girl" "Kiss me Kiss me In the shadow of Kiss me in the shadow of a doubt" "Close my eyes and think of you Everything turns black to blue Starpower, starpower Starpower over me" "We're gonna kill the California girls We're gonna fire the exploding load In the milkmaid maidenhead We're gonna find the meaning of feeling good And we're going to stay there As long as we think we should Mystery train Three way plane Expressway... to your skull" Now imagine the sort of music that could go with all those weird-yet-evocative lyrics. You'd need something that can convey all the conflicts and sexual tension and innocent arrogance and arrogant innocence and sheer elatedness and muted rage of your teenage years. You'd need a perfect mix of dream pop and indie-rock and terror noise and goth and bubblegum pop. You'd need an LP that literally never ends, with the last groove on the record being a locked one, circling and circling all over again on itself with its low rumbling maelstrom gurgling all the way to eternity. Teenagers always think they're immortal, don't they? You'd need Sonic Youth's first masterpiece. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 812 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 102 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 46 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 41

hell yeah, love Sonic Youth I think I’ve listened to everything from Confusion Is Sex to Daydream Nation and while some albums are definitely better than others, I feel like there’s always something to appreciate in each one I’m excited to hear Goo, that looks like a really cool album, and of course I wanna hear their entire discography and of course EVOL gets a 10/10, some of my favorite songs from the whole discography are in there

It is dissonant, out of tune, and gritty, and I enjoy it for it. It is a little bit up its own ass, but in an endearing way. I like it. It is definitely something you need to be in the right mood/headspace for though.

evol, huh? im open to it.

This is both headache inducing and incredibly boring all at the same time. I feel like I haven’t really liked any of these albums so far, which is kind of disappointing. I don’t like how quiet the small amount of singing is. I have a headache. Okay seriously are these even songs? More like slam poetry which I hate. I want this album to end. I’m only at green light. I don’t think they even tried to make these “songs” sound good. I’m exhausted. People are weird. Who would like this? I’m convinced that the only people who like songs like this only like them because they think it makes them cool and different and quirky. Of all the albums I’ve listened to so far in this project this might be the most unbearable, so there’s that. Bubblegum was better, but too little too late. Nothing could have saved this.

Sonic Youth has been my biggest discovery since starting this project. Sure I knew of them beforehand, and listened to a few songs BUT I'm loving their discography. This album is much better than I expected. Btw... I've listen to Kim and Thurston's audiobooks recently. If you are interested in the late 70's NYC music scene, definitely check out Thurston's book.

This is awesome, I like this a lot. Sonic Youth is one of those bands that I've heard a lot about and never really listened to much, so I'm excited to get a bit deeper into their work. From my light reading it seems like this album is considered to be a transition point for them where they rounded out the lineup going forward and solidified their sound a bit. It also just sounds very different from a lot of the other '80s stuff from the time and I'm into it. The sound on here is just really great. There's a bit of the avant garde-y noise in the back on a lot of the songs, and it invokes this somewhat dark and uncomfortable feeling. But like in a way that totally works and makes for an awesome sound. The ping-pong-y sounds and whispers on "Shadow of a Doubt" are just perfect. I like the split male/female vocals as well, and really like the songs that Kim Gordon sings. Awesome album, a real bright spot on a turkey-less Thanksgiving. Favorite song: Shadow Of A Doubt Other: Tom Violence, Starpower, Death To Our Friends, Secret Girl, Marilyn Moore, Madonna Sean And Me 11/23/23

Innovative, raw and hypnotics. A big step forward from previous album, Bad Moon Rising.

Noisy, raw, energetic and with a lot of depth.

“Homero Simpson arruinó mi puerco, Cypress Hill me robo la orquesta y Sonic Youth asalta mi hielera! ¡LARGO DE AHÍ NIÑOS!” No me parece el mejor disco de Sonic Youth ni de cerca (daydream nation seria ese). Pero es inegable la contribución al rock depresivo y oscuro. Un montón de notas sueltas y marcadas que sin dudas influenciaron a muchos de los artistas que mas escucho hoy en día (Reznor, te estoy mirando a vos). Cuando pensaba que la música no se podía poner más angustiante que con los Smashing Pumpkins, salta esto, por suerte menos adolescente y más… Relatable. El aspecto técnico es espectacular… Steve Shelley es un baterista del carajo y se nota muchísimo en el disco, 10 años atrás podría haber tocado la batería en Joy Division y cuadraba perfecto. La voz de Kim Gordon (que mujer) tiene un aire super precursor que siento que después fue super imitado sin nadie que se le pueda acercar. Creo que el mundo de la música es un poco mejor gracias a la existencia de este disco, por mas que no sea mi favorito de la banda. Podría decirse que las contribuciones que hizo son mas que lo que el disco aporta auditivamente cuando lo escuchás. No se si lo voy a volver a escuchar en un futuro cercano, no porque no me guste, sino por el impacto que tiene en mí, cada vez que lo escucho mi cerebro se vuelve un corto de David Lynch.

What a turning point

it’s not the best Sonic Youth album, but damn are these guys good. Why can’t Moore band sound like this? See what I did there????

4.5/5. Pretty epic, pretty wild. Great youth

Pleasant surprise. I didn’t go into this expecting much but I really enjoyed it

This is a pretth good Sonic Youth album.

Makes me feel like a teenager again

Noisy, edgy, exciting

One of those albums that’s always been present in my life and has obviously influenced a huge number of bands I love, but I haven’t given it the time I should. Listening to it now, it’s fantastic & I really should dive back into their catalogue.

I've only really heard Sonic Youth's hits, but this was... different. That being said, I loved how weird and avant-garde it was. Awesome.

Their first of many great albums. This is their poppiest of their albums through Dirty (haven't listened to any after), and so this makes for a great introduction to Sonic Youth. Immediately in the first few songs you get a taste of who the singers are, the level of experimentation, and what style of rock they're going for. This is a slow transition from the no-wave of the previous two albums, but they're still quite distinctively punkish, relying more on noise rock and experimental techniques to create haunting noises. It often feels like the vocals are trying to fight more space against the dissonance and grittiness. The album flows really well from track to track. This isn't a masterpiece, especially not when compared to Daydream Nation, but it's still an excellent album that I'll be listening to time and time again. I can't even list my favorite tracks because I love all of them so much, except maybe "In the Kingdom #19" but it's still an amazing track. I found the lengthy closing track to be a great way to finish the chaos that is this album.

I like Sonic Youth. Groundbreaking for the Alternative scene.

Early Sonic Youth - lacking the killer punch of later works, but all the ingredients are here.

This hasn't aged as well as some other SY albums, but the off-kilter guitars of tunes like Green Light and Shadow are still prime Sonic Youth, and this still has a nod to their No Wave roots but with quite a psychedelic mood. Not their best album, but a great band.

Liked it didn’t love it.

Enjoyed this, not as much as say iron maiden but didn't hate it as much as most metal type bands. can't say a single song stood out.

I appreciate Sonic Youth but am more familiar with them from Daydream Nation onward. I like their experimentation and the use of multiple vocalists throughout the record. This earlier stuff is a bit rougher than what I'm used to with them and I find it to be a bit taxing as the record goes on. Sonic Youth is great but perhaps better in smaller doses like a track here and there on a mix/playlist. Looking forward to getting to their later albums on here.

I've always had the same gripe with Sonic Youth - I think create great music, but have terrible, boring vocals.

oh no NONONONO you are not giving me a goddamn FIFTH fucking Sonic Youth album Calling bullshit right here right now. I think we should all get to throw a flag or call for VAR or get some hard nope after 900 reviews to throw it back in the bin, call a suspension, any analogy you like. FIVE?? And I listened - again - and yes this record predictably sounds like the album cover. These are not songs. These are not serious people. eat my ass. that's my review: eat my ass. 0/10 💩🪠🤡🪠☢️🏳️

This isn’t good music.

This is actually the first Sonic Youth record I ever listened to and it’s still my go-to one. I don’t really dislike the stuff that came before or after (that I’ve actually listened to) but it doesn’t immediately scratch an itch like this one does. This is definitely something I listen to at least once a year. I don’t have a lot to say about it.

Love Sonic Youth. This might be my least favorite sonic youth album, but still one easily above 4/5, far from perfection, yet a work of art. The way they used music and noise to reach out and tell a story is so intellectual. It's always nice to listen to some noise rock every now and then. I love In the Kingdom #19, it's my favorite track in this album, so beautifully done. Not as great as Goo and Daydream Nation, yes, but this one should still be somewhere close to 4.5/5 and that's not an accurate description for in reality it's not a 4.5/5 thing-y. It's more like a "depend on my mood I would either give it a 5 or a 4" kind of stuff.

Awesome

In the Kingdom # 19 is a great driving song! I was obsessed with this band in my 20s, played this one on heavy repeat. Something about the guitars, JG Ballard vibe etc etc

About 1/2 way through and really liking this so far, it's really resonated with my mood for the evening. I'll definitely revisit Sonic Youth and this album I think. I certainly would have listened to this a lot when I was younger, I'm not sure why I didn't discover them until this album challenge. Not super thrilled with the word-jazz of In The Kingdom #19. My 14yro son accurately described this as "sounds kinda goth" Bubblegum is a lot of fun

Great atmosphere/tunes

It's album like this that makes me realise how much I like Sonic Youth. I'd not spent any time with this one previous so look forward to a few more listens. Faves: Shadown Of A Doubt, Secret Girl

This project has solidified the idea that I've been missing out by not digging into Sonic Youth more heavily. Definitely gonna go through their whole discography when this is over. I really dug this! I'm not sure whether it's this specific album's properties, or just that I've grown to appreciate their schtick overall, but I think this is my fave of their albums on the list. Hmmm, there's a comment on last.fm saying "Probably their most boring and unremarkable album", which made me feel like a noob. But then on wikipedia it's mentioned that Kim Gordon has referred to it as the band’s “goth record” so that makes me feel better! 🖤 Fave tracks - "Shadow of a Doubt" and "Secret Girl" are both awesome. Kim Gordon breathy vocal goth tracks, yes please. "Death to our Friends" rocks. "Bubblegum" is a kick ass closer!

ylevol

This is some of their best stuff.

Didn't know this as well as some of their catalogue, and really great to have a few listens today, without the sheen of nostalgia. Loved it. Recommended reading: Kim Gordon's Girl in a Band.

Classical Sonic Youth.

amo vos sonic youth

👍👍

Surprised this is in here - a more obscure Sonic Youth pick than say Daydream Nation, Goo, Sister, or Dirty, but I can see that it is a great snapshot of all the elements that make them so special. EVOL is such a nice intersection between noisy and songsy, and has a lot of things I love on it. I'm a massively biased lover of Sonic Youth.

Melhor efeito da lista, a oportunidade de escutar discos relevantes para mim que desconhecia. 40 minutos do rock barulhando com emoção.

This album really showcases Sonic Youth’s shift from a noise based band to a more melodic one. The noise elements are still very much there, but amidst the experimental music, melodies and more structured elements arise giving the album a sense of cohesion and identity and lay the foundation for their best work to come. I personally really enjoy the more avant garde aspects and enjoyed hearing their evolution.

Loved it!

A little more avant garde than I would typically enjoy on an afternoon but some of the drum lines and piano really stand out.

Good stuff

One of best US guitar bands in history, new album for me and I loved every song of it. In the Kingdom #16 could have been recorded by early Velvet Underground. Green lights: beautiful guitar play and atmosphere. Secret Girl: the freaky piano and manical speaking, Can go on, this is my type of music.

Очень понравилось, буду переслушивать. Добротный пост-панк для того, чтобы печально сидеть и смотреть в пустоту. Пока что лучшее, что советовал мне сайт.

They always amaze me both in terms of talent and when they were doing this - a decade ahead of the rest of music

Another classic SY album. I always liked this one a lot. Shadow of A Doubt is amazing. The firecrackers thrown at Lee on Into The Kingdom makes me chuckle every time. It's just such a good album.

This album came at a good time, because lately I have been dark dissonant alternative rock. This band is an acquired taste. I probably wouldn't have like this a couple years ago, and there's some of the stuff in this genre I still don't like (I still don't think I like Jesus and the Mary Chain). Sometimes bands in this genre go overboard with the fuzzy screechy noise, but this album wasn't like that. Torn between 4 and 5.

Awesome. New to me, I've listened to other sonic youth stuff but this album has evaded me.

I thought I had gotten all the Sonic Youth albums on the list already, but I guess not! Coincidentally, the generator gave them all to me in reverse chronological order. I mentioned last time that I've liked SY more with each earlier album, and that was the case here as well. I guess what I'm learning is that I should explore the rest of their early discography. I'm planning to keep this on my phone and listen to it again.

This album is pretty much perfect for me. The noisy style works so well here, and there is enough of their no wave roots in this to elevate the experience. They made some amazing records after this, but none of them really live up to this album for me.

Growing up in a small Midwestern city in the 80s and having no interest in the local radio station, I bought a lot of music through the mail. I would read the classified ads in any music magazine I could get my hands on, and send away for music catalogs. The catalogs were just huge newspapers full of titles, with little in the way of explanation and maybe a picture here and there. This was my first experience with EVOL. I picked it out of a mail order catalog based on a picture of that cover, and a general sense that this was something I really needed to hear. I don't remember if I had ever actually heard Sonic Youth at the time, and I don't know what I expected exactly. But this album really delivered. I think EVOL gets unfairly overshadowed by a lot of Sonic Youth's later, more ambitious works. But front to back, EVOL is possibly the most cohesive album the band ever made. It's a gritty, tense, unsettling collection of songs, the soundtrack of nightmares. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo (and Mike Watt!) use guitars like a painter uses a brush. Guitars that squeal like tires on the highway, they twitter like birds, they roar like emergency sirens, they chime like church bells in hell. The band uses feedback, distortion and quiet like instruments all on their own. Add to that the propulsive rhythm section of Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley and the haunting vocals of Moore and Gordon, and you have a sound that gets under your skin and stays there. It's dark and unnerving, but with surprise moments of loveliness. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Starpower; Shadow of a Doubt; Tom Violence; Expressway to Yr. Skull/Madonna, Sean and Me; Green Light; Marilyn Moore; Secret Girl; Bubblegum; Death to Our Friends; In the Kingdom #19

First Homer Simpson wrecks my pig, then Cypress Hill steals my orchestra, and now Sonic Youth's in my Spotify! Amazing.

Never got the Sonic Youth hype, now I get it!

I was fairly ambivalent about the other Sonic Youth album I heard (Sister), but this? I would inject this directly into my veins. Too dramatic? Perhaps. My statement still stands.

Adding Steve Shelley to the crew, Sonic Youth made their transition into more melodic sensibility territory while not abandoning the atonal post-punk aesthetic while the guitar sound became more "alternative" than ever. Sonic Youth's legendary status was ready to be leveraged from then on. Fav Track: Marilyn Moore

An important bit of foundation for many amazing albums to come. Such an original and innovative sound that could only come from SY.

Sonic Youth's four best albums: 1. Sister. 2. Dirty 3. Daydream Nation 4. Evol 5. not sure: too much choice. Differences are small though. In any case, great album, 10/10.

Caught me from the beginning. Immediately, really really good. I’m basically an instant fan. Beat poetry over the noisy, grinding guitars, I mean this is amazing. I loved how dynamic the songs were… there’s a cinematic quality to all of their music. Never too insistent on one mood— always challenging, shape-shifting. I had a great time, and I want to listen more to their work. Immediate fan! 5/5

4.5

This is already a regular listen for me. Just perfect.

notes - sonic youth’s third album - post punk/alternative rock - detuned atonal guitars, talk-singing from both singers - unconventional song structures - i like a lot of other sonic youth stuff, never heard this album before but this album really did it for me - all the songs are super satisfying and unexpected - lots of noise and experimentation that i really enjoyed fav - shadow of a doubt - this song is really something special, wow least fav - bubblegum - it’s a cover, doesnt quite fit 5/5 - i knew going in that i would really like it but this really blew me away

This album is Sonic Youth’s on ramp to greatness

cool

Sonic youth

Really good.

Wonderful. I’ve listened to many SY, but not this one for some reason.

Larga vida a Sonic Youth? "Ruido" que sí me gusta. De acá conocía "Starpower", pero todo me gustó y especialmente "Madonna, Sean, and Me". Ruido darksss. 10/10

I love the dissonance. I love how sloppy it is. But every time I hear Sonic Youth, I think the same thing. "Less reverb". It's fine to out reverb on something. But holy hell, they just drench EVERYTHING with it. I know it's a choice. I know it was the 80s. But there's just too much.

love love love

++: Tom Violence, Shadow of a Doubt, Starpower, Green Light, Death to Our Friends, Marilyn Moore, Expressway to Yr. Skull +: Kingdom #19 +-: Secret Girl 9,6/10

Better than I expected

3.6

I could never really get INTO Sonic Youth but this is a really good album. I really liked In the Kingdom #19 and Tom Violence reminded me of Joy Division

Starts strong and then peters out. Enjoyable album overall.

similarly never really connected with the youth but i did really enjoy this ! I am seeing a path where i learn to love sonic youth

ik versta dat sommige mensen dit niet goed vinden... zij moeten ook verstaan dat ik vind dat ze ongelijk hebben... beetje noise kan nooit kwaad

A glorious racket !

It was pretty good. Not quite a 5 for me but getting close. Will I listen to again: 85%

So, turns put I really like Gothy, Post-Punk Sonic Youth. Maybe I just really like Goth Rock in general, but this works for me so much more that the other albums I’ve had of theirs. I’m still not sure I’m 100% convinced, but yeah, I could see myself listening to this again

This album is pretty good, and not really what I was expecting, being more familiar with late 90's Sonic Youth. Definitely something I'll come back to later. 3.5/5

Banger album. Like it a lot. I listened to it previously, but was very ready to listen again. 4/5

Classic early Youth, not as fully formed as their post-Daydream material but all the more charming, definitely had a good time here. B

Not my favorite Sonic Yiuth album, but still solid.