E.V.O.L.

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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.

“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.

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

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.

What a turning point

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.

Noisy, edgy, exciting

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.

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

I like Sonic Youth. Groundbreaking for the Alternative scene.

This is a pretth good Sonic Youth album.

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

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.

Makes me feel like a teenager again

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????

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.

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.

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

This isn’t good music.

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.

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

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

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

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.

ylevol

This is some of their best stuff.

Classical Sonic Youth.

👍👍

amo vos sonic youth

Really good.

This album is Sonic Youth’s on ramp to greatness

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.

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

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.

Loved it!

4.5

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

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

cool

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Sonic youth

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.

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

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

Good stuff

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.

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

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

4.3 - If “Daydream Nation” feels like flying through a mountain range of an inhospitable planet, this record feels like exploring its dank subterranean caves. Guitar sounds like I’ve never heard.

Moody, noisy, electric. Right up my alley and though it was a sunny day I nestled into a funk as I walked the streets and imagined that I was more intellectually stimulated than anybody else and that only I could sense the vague darkness of the human soul despite it being the focus of the art that millions of other nerds enjoy. The more straightforward garage punky tracks lost me. Fave track: Tom Violence

Noisy, tense post-punk indie rock. While it isn't their masterpiece that would come 2 years later, you do hear many of the foundations of that album being explored and distilled. Energetic, often angry and yet melodic vocals and hooks being buried beneath walls of sound. It's no wonder Sonic Youth often distills that gap between Black Flag and all the 90s indie rock bands that followed suit in my mind. They angrily and yet with a delicate pop touch thrashed the path forward.

3.5/5

I liked it much more than I thought I would.

Actually pretty chill to listen to as I worked

Somehow I missed Sonic Youth when growing up and listening to all sorts of rock and indie 'from the past'. Noisy and dark. I enjoyed the second half of the album more Saved tracks: Shadow Of A Doubt, Marilyn Moore, Bubblegum

Solid album with lots of interesting ideas, but it did not resonate with me enough for full marks.

Sonic Youth has always been a tough one for me to crack…but this might just be my ticket in. The explorations between noise, harmony, and tone are so unique. In no two places do they sound alike, yet they all fit together seamlessly. “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Expressway to Yr Skull” are stunning. Cinematic is right, Jacob. “Starpower” too. Cool to see Mike Watt of Minutemen play on a few tracks and to hear that his time with Sonic Youth is what inspired him to form fIREhOSE, his second act in music following D. Boon’s passing. Also cool to hear Sonic Youth developing their sound here. I had listened once before to their album before this, Bad Moon Rising, and really thought it wasn’t very good. I can’t remember much about it except that it was goth-y and, like, shoe-gaze-y but completely devoid of harmony which isn’t a great combination. But on EVOL, you can hear Sonic Youth adapting and establishing a slacker-ed, grunge-y, and poppier sound without sacrificing any of their previous work’s bite, darkness, or political intent. It’s a sound whose legacy would be a beacon to indie/alt bands of the whole next decade to come. And that would throttle a few of those bands to overwhelming success. It really feels like that all started here, with EVOL.

Une atmosphère à la fois lourde et aérienne, des voix qui ne prennent pas toute la place. J'aime beaucoup

Este disco ni en pedo es para cuando estas bajón porque te tiras abajo del bondi. NO PARA CUANDO ESTAMOS EN UN CONFINAMIENTO DE UNA PANDEMIA. pero me gusta la banda 4 efes

Much better and more raw than Daydream Nation, and a magnificent composition rocking through

This is the sound of a menacing truck mercilessly tracking you down with no explanation at all. It's the increasing anxiety as the thundering engine gets closer and closer, pushing you deeper into despair. It's Duel (1971) by Spielberg.

The first truly evol record in the Sonic Youth discography. EVOL is gritty, discordant, eerie - but most of at it’s dark. It’s just really, really dark. And Kim Gordon is standing at the center of it all omitting a strange, seductive light. I believe Ranaldo to be a genius and one of the most innovative rock guitarists in the game, but he comes close to bring Side A to a full stop with his only lead song on the album, “In the Kingdom #19”. Luckily Sonic Youth picks it up again on Side B and ends on a high with “Expressway To Yr. Skull”. This right here is where Sonic Youth embarked on their road to greatness.

this is by no means one of the best sonic youth albums, however its infinitely better than 50% of this list.

I had to listen again to be sure, I was thinking “Did I really like that?” I did. 4 stars

Need to get into more sonic youth

This one was enjoyable. It does seem somewhat unfinished to me - feels like they *almost* found the sound they were shooting for. none of the songs captured my interest individually, but I like the sound of the album as a whole. good one for rainy days. nothing added, but i could see myself listening again in the right mood 6.5/10

Not as memorable as Goo, but pretty solid. 7/10

Incredible album. Top 3? Sonic Youth album. 8/10

Too compressed to be grand, the sound tempts me to call Sonic Youth's post-punk less than perfectly pessimistic. But if anything the band goes too dark, if not in the ways I expected. Fearsome breadth on display, despite the palette and the length.

The noisy (beautiful) mess that was before that part of Sonic Youth's music went from art rock to what was to become the main stream.

Blassique

- Listened to Sonic Youth albums before, just not this one - Should've gone further into their discog years ago, this is great - Fav songs: Starpower, Death to our Friends; Madonna, Sean and Me

definitely a sonic youth album. this is my first experience with the band and its pretty good, but i do expect better things with the other albums.

Not one of their best but its Sonic Youth so of course its good