Reviews (page 5 of 8)
Какая-то мешанина эмо/пост панка, а не нойз рок. Музыка для думскорлинга какая-то Алкоальбом: идешь домой со школки, пьешь ягуар и челка заезжает тебе в глаз
this just really didn't do anything for me, i'm sorry!
i guess if i had been a teenager growing up in 1986 this might've been the sort of thing i'd listen to, but it's not doing much for me as an adult in 2024. i know a few sonic youth songs and they're definitely an acquired taste. these tracks feel haphazard and everything's all over the place. certainly more interesting than some of the real blase "required listening" on this list but overall just kind of strange and baffling without a real point. favorites: tom violence, shadow of a doubt, starpower, bubblegum
Very erie punk/alternative rock.
I know people love sonic youth, but they sound much the same to me... Like monotone.
Made me put on Pixies.
I liked this better than the other SY album! That’s good I think.
Certainly not my favourite Sonic Youth album.
Quite good start - but become more and more „crazy“
Better than the last Sonic Youth album on this list.
very meh
This music just isn't for me. It's from a time and a scene I was never part of and can't vibe with. The weird part is that it had a huge influence on the angsty music I do like. I can absolutely hear the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in this music. I head Dinosaur Jr. But I just can't get into it. And despite all this, I haven't stopped listening, so maybe there's something in this for me.
It was a pleasant enough noise to noodle through. A band who know what they’re doing, and what they’re about. That’s about the sum of my notes. Solid, but not leaving much of a mark on my consciousness.
Detta är ju rätt så bra. Märks att det har influerat Nirvana med flera. Lite konstiga ljud ibland, men i grunden bra. 3 / 5
• Omslaget ser ut som jag tänker mig Sonic Youth: konstigt och lite kaotiskt • Första tanke: så många av de band man tycker om har Sonic Youth som inspiration, men varje gång jag lyssnat på dem har jag inte tyckt om det så mycket, men detta var rätt normalt nu i början: De kanske blir skummare med åren • Det blev konstigt tillslut ändå Betyg: Jag har inte förmågan att tycka om de flesta låtar hur jag än vill => 2/5 => vad va ja tänkte ge för betyg. Lyssnade om några låtar morgonen efter, vet inte om jag valde exakt alla normala låtar med det va bättre denna gång. Musikmässigt är det bra, men har svårt när sången blir lite för avantgarde => 3/5
3-7-2024 I like the instrumentation. The vocals are pleasant sounding but the lyrics are...worth a listen. Kinda dark. Not terrible but not really for me (maybe if I listened more than once but..)
Completely unaware of Sonic Youth in my uncool younger days. Thought this was a pretty interesting listen, but it's pretty noisy. Centainly had wide ranging influences on all sorts of alt and grunge. Can see why folks reference it. Unexpected bangers: Green Light, Marilyn Moore, Starpower
I like but too long.
Solid album. Pretty emo and nothing stands out too much to me. But enjoyable nevertheless. 3.5/5
Interesting album, just mind blowing guitars and arrangements. A total psychedelic departure. I thought I was going to turn it off at first, ended up even adding a couple things to my favorites. Cool to listen to blow the dust off the hackneyed brain and feel total freedom.
I would have given this two stars, but I'll bump it up one because of the influence it had on so many of the albums I listened to as a teenager. Try as I might, I need some semblence of melody in my music and some of the folks who took this and ran with it really perfected the noisy guitar sound with a slight tinge of pop sensibility. (I know that's verboten in some circles, but to my ear its much more pleasant)
Fine but forgettable
Like many Sonic Youth albums, this one led me in with some grungy catchy songs with a noisy edge. I think this one strikes a better balance between the messy noise and the poppier tracks. The production also feels a little bit more open than something like daydream nation which feels really narrow.
Reminds me of Joy Division
This started very promising, but fell off. Missed the drums in the slow and meandering second half.
is fine ig
(pre)teska alternativa, 3/5. Ima dvije tri pjesme dobre.
nis posebno mi nije bio
In a previous Sonic Youth review, I claimed to not be a fan. But this is now my third SY album and I am loving their diversity in sound!
Rewinding to the 80s for sure.
A dense poertry session with punk rock on the background. I feel it may be hard to listen to people not used to have punk or any kind of rock in their to-go playlists
I should know this album better than I do, given my age, but I guess it's a just a few years too early for me. Shadow of a Doubt is an amazing yet utterly creepy song and I don't know how I feel about that. I like this album better than the other Sonic Youth album I reviewed (Daydream Nation), but overall I'm just not that into Sonic Youth.
I really like Sonic Youth, but Evol is not my favorite album. Still a solid one!
Pretty good
This has been my issue ever since the 90's when my friends all liked Sonic Youth and I did not. I just can't get into them and I'm probably the problem. It's not bad music, I just do not connect to it. I could go with one Sonic Youth album on this list and I've already heard the other. I preferred this one, honestly. Sonic Youth is influential and they are one of the few bands of the grunge era I could not get into. Such is life.
Overall this was an alright album. I absolutely loved Sonic Youth's "Goo" album, that was presented to me earlier, but this was not as good. I only liked a couple of the songs. I would still recommend this album if you are fan. Favorite Song(s): "Tom Violence", "Shadow of a Doubt", "Starpower", "Bubblegum"
I don't know exactly where my deep aversion to Sonic Youth came from; maybe it was playing "Kool Thing" on Guitar Hero when I was too young to Get It and hating the song, maybe it was a reflexive dislike of Kim Gordon's voice (I'm sorry), maybe it was years of being inundated with people insisting that Sonic Youth is the greatest band to come from New York, the apex of cool, heirs apparent to The Velvet Underground, whatever. Here we are. The guitar work, the production and atmosphere--this thing *is* pretty cool. The drums sound great. The songs are tight. The album is polished but not fussy. If I was in somebody's basement or a dim club hearing this stuff live, I think I'd go nuts. There are still the moments of pretentiousness that I'd expected (see: "In the Kingdom #19", "Secret Voice"), but I wouldn't call this a pretentious record. It's good rock music. But I still don't really like Kim Gordon's voice. Highlights: Tom Violence, Star Power, Death to Our Friends, Madonna, Sean, and Me
3,5
I was listening to Sonic Youth in the early 90's (Goo/Dirty), yet I never explored much further. I kinda got over them and didn't really look back. This was interesting. The band sounds amazing, better than what I remember. The songs aren't really getting to me though. At least if I was going to listen to Sonic Youth in the future, if probably pick this album.
Je connaissais pas du tout, très nice. Je pense réécouter.
J'ai bien aimé dans l'ensemble, mais les solo c'est pas mon truc.
Ok
Je pense qu'on a compris le truc maintenant
Rock alternativo oscuro. Me ha disgustado menos que el resto de los que he escuchado de SY. Ni fu ni fa.
Satisfyingly grungy and lo fi. Almost sounds ahead of its time.
well, i have like one or two sonic youth songs across all my playlists but i’ve never listened to an album all together or a bunch of their music, and i’ll be honest, i’ve listened now and probably won’t listen to that album ever again apart from ‘star power’ i love that song a lot. it’s a good album for the genre i guess, but just background annoyance for me; though i love their vibe.
Qlright
To go from an experimental Velvet Underground album to this seems intentional. I'm taking it personally. The algorithm is a little too on the nose. As if I needed help underscoring the idea this album sprang from the ashes of White Light / White Heat. In my mind, this is where it really starts for Sonic Youth. The beginning of them perfecting their sound starts here. This band was never going to be confused with bubble gum pop, but they clearly lightened things up a bit after this album. That said, there's a lot of this I don't particularly care for. Maybe I just don't need my goth to sound so gothy.
This was interesting, and would perhaps require a re-listen to get a better grasp on it. I like the atmosphere and wish I had listened to it in a quieter environment so I could better immerse myself in the album. My favourite song was Shadow of a Doubt.
A very enjoyable 3
Standard Sonic Youth
Pretty solid old noise rock. Not much else to say
Sounds cool
Idk tbh
Sonic Youth is one of those bands that I truly missed the boat on. Hyper aware of them and their imprint on music forever but not really all that familiar with their music. Consequently I don't feel a ton when I listen to it. This album is fine, it's like all other Sonic Youth albums, just kind of whatever for me. Maybe some day I'll do a true deep dive in to Sonic Youth, but I figure if I was ever going to do that I would have done it by now.
7/10
It’s alright but they have other albums that I like better.
Gorgeous, scuzzy music
Kinda boring, but an interesting turning point towards "Daydream Nation" nonetheless.
Not bad. I dig their vibe on this album. I haven't been much of a fan of their others, but this one was pretty good.
очень мрачно
Shadow of a Doubt is cool. Starpower is cool. I think this album is where I finally start to see the appeal of Sonic Youth. In the Kingdom #19 is pretty odd. Maybe after this is done will do another pass at the Sonic Youth. There is something here that caught me, i just dont really know what.
Starts off sounding like The Cure - which is not a bad thing - but shows a lot of where they were headed.
Noise! Noisy noise! Ok though.
Apart from a couple of nice songs (Starpower) the balance on this album leans over to unstructured noise.
I might revisit this one another time when I can pay some more attention. I did enjoy the listen. The instrumentation on here was really interesting and rough - Moore is a pretty phenomenal guitarist and Gordon is her own sort of genius. Sonic Youth were always a band I've been meaning to really get into, but have never engaged with it quite as much as I expect. Maybe overall this album didn't feel as complete as some I've heard in a similar style, and sometimes they maybe seem a little ~too~ angsty. Still benefited from hearing this, and has piqued my curiosity for what I imagine is another handful of albums from this band on this list. Three and a half - Fave track: Starpower
I wonder if the generator has an impact on how I'm perceiving these albums. The Sonic Youth albums are coming at me at a pretty brisk clip, and I'm kind of burnt out on it. Likewise, I'm getting Dylan at a much brisker pace than Bowie, who has a similar amount of representation on the list. Anyway, it's fine - I find Sonic Youth to be kind of tedious, and having so much of it so close together doesn't really help dispel that impression.
Didn't expect to enjoy this but it was intense and different. Lots of interesting directions here. Shows you that there was a resistance movement in 1986
meh
I like it, but I just can't believe there are 5 total Sonic Youth albums on here. Daydream Nation absolutely deserves its spot, but I'm not as sold on the rest. That being said I don't dread the last two of their albums I still have coming because I do like them. Just not necessarily must hears.
I understand that this album has a lot of influences on the kind of bands that would become known as grunge but this kind of feels like a bunch of people f****** around in a garage it crawled that way bands later could run.
Have never gotten over the fact that I was out of the shop chasing stock when Thurston Moore came into Scratches during Sonic Youth’s 1989 tour. Look, I was never a huge fan, but I enjoyed some of their stuff - I have the Starpower single, but I actually prefer the flipside, the Kim Fowley cover, Bubblegum. They were still a bit too noisy for my liking at this point in their development. I finally got to see them at the Enmore in 2008, when they were doing their Daydream Nation tour. Now that was an album.
This sounds like many things, but it's dark, goth and less depressing than expected. Nothing stood out for me, just a sound.
Someone on RYM described this band perfectly as "masters of finely sculpted cacophony." But these masters have better masterpieces.
3/5. Feel like I'm supposed to like it more. Just didn't really click for me
Int lika bra som the beatles!!!
Solid. Found it a bit less meaty than some other SY albums but maybe it was just my mood.
Not my favourite of the Sonic Youth Albums I've been served by 1001 but one I will definitely revisit.
3.5 I don't dislike Sonic Youth, but I have to be on the right wavelength first, and only for varying amounts of time.
Eh
The third Sonic Youth album now and I thought this one was just okay. A little samey after a while and didn't exactly blow me away or anything.
They're an okay band and make a record which could be interesting if I was more teenage, more angry and more American. Feels like a song missing a melody though. It just sort of starts, does it's thing and ends leaving the listener broadly unhooked. Maybe after the millionth listen I'll get there but not today
Liked, but needs a second listen.
Why this album? Sonic Youth have way better ones. It's a decent SY effort I guess but far from their best
It's interesting listening to this earlier album
Historical inflection point where one of the greatest post-Beatles rock figure out how to shape their incredible sound into bonafide songs, decent, but meandering ones (they’d get better after).
Is dit post-punk of pre-grunge? Het heeft wat van beide mee. Aparte sound
да простят меня все ценители, мне кажется что этот альбом попросту плохо состарился и один из немногих хороших моментов который я могу выделить, это то что они не особо говнари как я понял, довольно необычный альбом, но как по мне, но буквально на раз. Лучшие треки: Shadow of a Doubt, Secret Girl
It was interesting from a band I had heard of but was unfamiliar with their work
Good background tunes
Letterlijk gewoon atmospherisch lawaai af en toe. Maar wel vet als dat het niet is.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Shadow of a doubt
Too experimental for my taste
meh
Pretty fine punk album
Not my favorite Sonic Youth album by far, but I can dig what they were trying to do. 3.5/5.
pretty good album.
With an industrial sound comprising of screeching guitars, angsty lyrics, and the low almost spoken like lyrics allows Sonic Youth to peer into your soul with what is commonly referred to as their Goth record. By sharing the vocalists amongst the band, it gives EVOL a way to break up the record and creates a nice juxtaposition. Best: Bubble Gum Worst: Death to Our Friends
Love Sonic Youth, don't love this album. Experimentation isn't what it used to be.
Upon first glance, I was surprised this was on the list. I certainly know some Sonic Youth, but this is not among the Sonic Youth with which I am familiar. I know their late 80s and early 90s stuff best, but Sonic Youth was a band I had to go back and discover years later because it was too under-the-radar indie for me at the time. Slightly wrong generation. But not to worry, on two accounts. First, there are 5 Sonic Youth albums on the list! And second, an amazing album well-deserving of the 1001 list. I know some Sonic Youth, but clearly not enough, and after listening to "E.V.O.L." I'll certainly be going on a little Sonic Youth bender. Likely their most famous song, "Bull in the Heather," off "Experimental Jet Set," doesn't even make the list. A fantastic band well ahead of their time. But while they have such talent and potential, "E.V.O.L." wanders off and gets lost in the abyss a bit too often. When it's focused its phenomenal, but it can't maintain those highs. It doesn't need to be focused all the time, but there were too many extended segments of bizarre background noise or weird feedback. The best parts of both the focused and unfocused stuff reminded me of Priests, a DC band that put out two terrific albums in the late 2010s. They must have been heavily influenced by Sonic Youth, but I had never been able to place it before.
This is a tough one to rate. It starts out strong with Tom Violence and Shadow Of A Doubt, where I really like the guitar sound. It gets experimental. The spoken word In The Kingdom #19 is a welcome departure. Green Light gets weird, not in a good way, not necessarily a horrible way either, but in a disorganized noise-for-the-sake-of-noise way. And it continues through the beginning of Secret Girl, which has a cool, low key, horror film vibe during the second half. Marilyn Moore brings more experimentation that I enjoy because they are playing around with various sounds a guitar can make by altering the way they play it. They are expressing the instruments capabilities. The cover of Bubblegum brings a fun conclusion to the album. The bass is a highlight. The experimental aspects of this album are mixed, some good some bad. That’s what experimentation is all about. In the end, this is an album worth listening to.
Tätä levyy SY:ltä en olekkaan aikaisemmin kuunnellut! Onhan tässä jo ikäänkuin se SY:lle tyypillinen soundi ehtinyt muodostua. Toimii ihan hyvin mutta eipä tällä nyt kuuhun vielä pääse. 3/5
Vieläkin oon vähän sitä mieltä että Sonic Youth on vähän tylsänpuoleista. 3/5.
It was alright. Definitely not the run of the mill basic punk rock. Lots of drony, dissonant guitars which I felt kept it interesting. The drums were actual pretty awesome as well. 6/10
A tricky album to get a hold off and whilst I enjoy Sonic Youth’s audio experimentation for the most part, I couldn’t find a way into this one - more impenetrable than the others, only brightened when Kim Gordon takes the lead.
On some level I feel I never got Sonic Youth. This is OK, but nothing spectacular.
3. Some good some bad. Just kinda sounded like a group of somewhat talented musicians album
It's sound and soundscapes for me. To my ear, sonic youth songs sound massive and expansive. Almost noise experimentation for noise experimentation's sake. I like it a lot, I think it takes the "wall of sound" in a grungy and even more experimentap direction (and they were ahead of grunge, so that deserves recognition). The guitars are being absolutely wrung dry for sounds! I think the album (and the band) certainly possesses artistic merit. I love the weirdness (in the kingdom #19 comes to mind for the barmy reverso noises), but it's definitely not for everyone.
It is a weird type of music. I can listen to it, but I will not be a fan of it. It was decent, 3/5
quite chaotic for my taste
It was both; more and less grungy than I thought.
Didn't give it as much attention as I probably should have. Sounded pretty noisy though
I still don’t get that echoey and at the same time flat sound from 80’s rock but hey, as long as it doesn’t have synths I’m on board.
I feel like I say this a lot about albums on the list, but just because I can appreciate the talent, vision, and uniqueness of a particular album doesn't mean that I really enjoy listening to it. I feel that way about a lot of Sonic Youth music. It's interesting, but not super enjoyable. 3 stars.
Meh
Pretty crazy but good I suppose
Nothing new to say about this band. I don’t get the hype, I find it overrated, I think the number of spots they’re given on this list is crazy.
El disc on Sonic Youth comencen a ser ells mateixos. Les melodies comencen a aparèixer, per suposat embrutades per tot el feedback de guitarra i la muralla de so i distorsió marca de la casa. Un grapat de bons temes, que donarien inici a l'etapa clàssica del grup
Suenan bien pero sin pena ni gloria
Sonic Youth neutral
I don't know why, but over the years, whenever I've heard the band name Sonic Youth, I've always pictured a bunch of friendly, happy kids performing at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. They are not that. These are dark and sullen kids. Turns out this was some of the worst road trip music I've ever played, but it definitely came up a point listening with headphones. I found it more cohesive, interesting, and listenable than Daydream Nation, but it's still not going in my library.
I still don't think that I am cool enough for Sonic Youth.
This is fine. I don't really like it much but I'm not angry at it. It's catchy here and there but I don't think I'd choose to listen again.
Having one Sonic Youth double album under my belt I wasn’t sure I was ready for another. I had a similar reaction to this as I did Daydream Nation. Some of the songs I kind of enjoyed. But I’m never really sure they’ll be ok to the end. There are interesting moments on this and I don’t mind hearing a bit of this now and then, but that’s about all the Sonic Youth I think I’ll be needing.
C’est tres ´sonoc’ j’aime mieux ca demenage et il y a du bon rock la dedans. 3.5
like jo sonic youth men detta va ikkje da besta eg har hørt
Fulgte ikkje så godt med, men trur da va verdt et gjenlytt
6/10. Not bad, not memorable on a first listen.
3/5. Not bad.
5/10 Best So g - Tom Violence
I hadn't heard this before and found it interesting hearing the band finding their sound, but it isn't an album I'll return to.
Like a bridge between Velvet Underground and grunge. Lots of spoken word.
I'm not a Sonic Youth fan. I listened to them a lot when I was younger, but after a while, they came to represent something I didn't like in rock music. They sounded like bored, disaffected rich kids. The noise in their noise rock wasn't visceral and energetic like that of contemporaries like Unsane or Big Black or Jesus Lizard. They didn't sound like the dirty underclass, they sounded like trustfund brats. Their music sounded like the soundtrack of waking up after three days of partying in a ritzy hotel with a nasty hangover and cigarette burns all over the carpet and wine stains on the drapes. But if I were to pick an era of Sonic Youth I did like, it would be early Sonic Youth. It was *more* urgent. It was *more* visceral. There were moments didn't sound blase. It still isn't my favorite... it's an artsy fartsy sort of noise rock that took the Velvet Underground's blueprint and amped up the emotional coldness without replicating the tunefulness that gave Velvet Underground a sense of balance so they actually felt like potentially likeable human beings. The biggest offender, though, is the production, There is a smothered, squashed sound to Sonic Youth's music while it would benefit from a lot more separation and dynamic range. If you're not going to commit to the heaviness of noise rock, don't compress it like you're making heavy music. The fuzziness of these recordings doesn't add anything to these songs and just feels like an artificial attempt to make the music sound warmer. I don't know, it's better than the buttheaded heaviness of Metallica, but as far as rock critic sacred cows go, I find less redeemable qualities than Radiohead, who I also find to be pretty overrated. I guess they're better than The Smiths, though. And Tom Violence slaps.
very dark, kinda ghotic album, didn't know sonic youth sounded like that. why would you be rude to nardwuar though you jerks
The opposite of "groovy". Cool. I enjoyed it more than "Goo", but it's still not driving me crazy. At certain points, unbelievably pretentious. Favorite tracks: "Tom Violence", "Death to Our Friends"
I get what they're doing here and I don't like it. Apart from Kim Gordon's tracks. But then that's Kim Gordon for ya - always Sonic Youth's underestimated MVP..
Weird one this because I wouldn't listen to it again, haven't added any tracks to the playlist... but it's very good
very rough around the edges (intentionally) kinda like a photo black midi with punk lyrics
its like goth rock/punk a bit alternative and musically interesting but doesnt really listen very well to me
Cacophonous, atmospheric and seductive in a way only Sonic Youth can really achieve. It's not as streamlined or as sonically rich as some of their later albums (Teenage Daydream, notably) but there is a raging energy to this that the grimier production complements
EVOL still has the rawness of early Sonic Youth records, but is a clear transition to a more alternative rock sound, leaving the noise rock and no wave sounds behind. Gondon's compositions, like "Shadow of a Doubt", are album highlights, just like every tracks with her vocals, like "Starpower", which sounds ominous and very post-punk in style. It shows a growing band, with still so much to create.
Much less noisy than the other Sonic Youth releases that I got on this list, so, much more enjoyable. I'll not become a fan of the band and I don't consider them so relevant to stay with more than one album on the 1001 list, however, this is a nice album and it's a good way to spend 37 minutes.
great rock album, interesting melodies but album seems kinda unequal
Rock alternativo oscuro. Me ha disgustado menos que el resto de los que he escuchado de SY. Ni fu ni fa.
Nice half-arsed noisy chaos
Another one that I wanted to like more than I did. I liked some of the heavier bass riffs and instrumentals, but overall didn't quite click with me.
Gillar det, lite artsy men inte för mkt, bra punkig känsla
Gillar ju Sonic Youth, men det här var lite monotont. Helt ok helhetsintryck, men saknar höjdpunkterna som finns på några av de andra plattorna (Kool Thing!!)
Un album d'une sombritude absolument démentielle de la part de nos amis du groupe Sonic Youth. Leurs deux premiers albums ayant été nettement surcotés de ma part, je leur retire cette fois-ci une étoile dans un souci de rééquilibrage.
6/10
not as good as their other stuff, still decent
3/5
Not for me apart from casual listening.
I am learning that I like the longer instrumental parts of Sonic youth songs and just do not care for the vocals at all. After a rocky start I settled into this record and ended up liking it a lot. I suspect it and the rest of their work grows on a fella.
Not my favorite Sonic Youth. Shadow of a Doubt a highlight.
Don't really get this album. It's not bad or anything but this kind of music doesn't do much for me.
Wouldn’t rush to listen to again
Liked this.
I think I liked Goo better, not a fan of this one, it felt pretty monochrome to me and I wasn't listening to the lyrics too close
Better than the other Sonic Youth album I listened to. Still not quite my thing.
quite dark, quite good. How many sonic youth albums are on this thing....
juventude sonica
Decent
it's alright. Kinda bleak.
Simpático. Puede ser que no haya estado del humor suficiente para poder apreciarlo. Shadow Of A Doubt fue lo que me quedó más grabado. Lo voy a volver a escuchar en otro momento.
Mag ich allein schon für den Gastauftritt bei den Gilmore Girls.
Ich weiß noch wie neugierig ich auf diese Band war, von der ich nur das T-Shirt kannte. Der geheimnisvolle Gesang und die noisig-schrabbeligen Klänge, dabei trotzdem so harmonisch und eingängig. Hör ich gerne mal allein über Kopfhörer. Neben Hits wie Starpower sind allerdings auch ein paar anstrengende Lieder dabei.
Still too intense.
.
its not bad
Dit moet ik toch echt op mijn gemak luisteren, want er gebeurt zoveel op deze plaat. Nooit echt goed verdiept in deze band, dus kan er nog niet veel over zeggen. Wat er van mee kreeg, klonk iig spannend.
Not their best like but decent
I think this is one of those bands that what you hear on the radio is probably enough.
false
They'll guard your watercooler real good
When I thought this was from 1996 I thought it was lame. When I realized it was *86* that changed my perspective. Still, I wasn’t doing the drugs these guys were doing, so it didn’t really jive with me
Don't know much Sonic Youth, but I enjoy the style. I'm not sure this is their finest work though, some of it doesn't do much for me. Love the lofi/feedback/dissonance parts of it, but overall there aren't any tracks on here that are ones I'd wanna go back to listen, except maybe "Shadow of a Doubt".
Dope instrumentals
Ok
not as good as goo, but not bad
God the 1980s were a weird decade for music. It's like everything was happening all at once, and for all the amazing things that were happening in the foreground, you also have bands like Sonic Youth. The first thing this reminded me of was Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement, which came out 6 years after this album. This album is more introspective and darker, though. I feel like there is something about Sonic Youth that never quite translates from their live shows to their albums, though. I feel like I should like these albums more, but it ultimately feels like there isn't anything for me to sink my teeth into. I think what I really need is an instrumental Sonic Youth album. I feel like that is where they really shine, and the vocals kind of distract from their instrumentals on a lot of songs. 3/5
sonic youth!!! but i like this less than i thought i would
I wonder if I'd feel different if I heard them when they first came out. Sonic Youth always has interesting sounds and musical parts, but the vocals and lyrics are so lame and flat that it isn't worth it.
Its ok, some songs i liked a fair amount and some fun vocals at points. It does sometimes feel edgy in a very teenaged angry kid way. Might just be a bad mood day but i just didnt love this other than secret girl and shadow of a doubt
The sort of music that your mind plays trying to sleep while sick as a dog, dosed up on codeine
It was alright. Not really all that great overall.
big up the lesbians
Pues es un álbum q me gustó por sus sonidos oscuros y su profundidad en sus instrumentos me pareció un álbum interesante y me llamó la atención sus artistas pero si Sentí q varias canciones se parecían muchas
Well, the Sonic lovers will be happy to see, what, 5 (?) LPs on this list. And this one most definitely doesn't need to be included. Moving on.
Eh
Non il mio genere
It's just noise.
Unlike an ETOL, this didn’t really take off for me.
I have been wondering if anyone pre-rock had that “fuck yea” feeling you get listening to great rock songs, like what would have to happen in 1700 for someone to get that amped that quickly. Discussed this with Frank and we discussed how that’s sort of what rock is, whereas other music makes you feel other things. Cypress Hill can make you feel you could confidently kill someone if need be. Which leads me to Sonic Youth, I don’t know what they want me to feel but I don’t particularly like it.
I don't enjoy this kind of noise rock
This was "ok." Don't really need to listen to it again.
Not my thing
Some Sonic Youth I can stand. This album wasn't that, though. 2/5
Passt schon, muss auch nicht
This is another mid 80s band I don’t understand the appeal of. It sounds like noise for noise’s sake
Not really my thing
Random thoughts: * I was prepared to hate this. I've definitely tried on Sonic Youth before as I feel ever since 1991 people have been telling me Sonic Youth is amazing. * I was expecting more noise rock and this was more melodic than I remembered. Maybe my listening ear has matured. * There were times where the guitars seem out of tune, I assume on purpose to give it a more edgy/punk sound. Huh? * This just isn't for me. I have a thought on why Sonic Youth isn't massively popular. They're just not that good. I have really given more than enough tries for this music and it just doesn't have the musical virtuosity or songwriting that I admire. * I see that I already rated the previous two albums as 2's. Still have two more albums to go on 1001. Again, there is no need for five Sonic Youth albums on this list!!
I tried, i really tried. There is a strong guitar band here, i liked the twin vocalists as it sounded like a conversation and i can see how other stuff built from here. But it just seems pretty basic and reliant on zeitgeist and cool to be relevant. It really struggled towards the end of the album and i perservered rather than enjoyed
Enough already
Just not a fan of this band. Radiohead does the same thing a million times better so I'd rather just listen to them.
ehh,... It's very noisy, and doesn't seem to go anywhere. I get they're being arty and whatnot, but it comes off as "we're VERY ANGRY and don't know what to do about it." There are bands that do noise and chaos and it becomes something, and then you have this. I don't really get why this is truly essential. My Rating: 2/5
2.5, this one was Hard to listen
This was fine. I'm no super into the talk-singing thing, but I like the instrumentals.
I feel like this is a band that I’m “supposed” to like, but when I listen I just feel like it’s just not interesting, and it sounds like they either can’t play very well or are intentionally playing in a way that make them sound bad?
Sonic youth E.v.o.l Some cool noisey guitar stuff. I don’t really like the vocals, especially the apathetic vocals on songs like bubble gum- that song is bad. It’s cool and I respect it but I don’t really want to go back and listen to this most of it is pretty challenging. Favorite songs are “shadow of a doubt” and “in the kingdom #19”. 2.5
This was my least favorite Sonic Youth album. it feels extra poorly mixed and I could never get into any song
Meh
More less.
I understand why people like Sonic Youth, but I’m not one of them
When I was in my early 20s and I started to really get into music, I had heard of this group called Sonic Youth and would occasionally drop it into conversation to try and garner some respect from other music fans, especially if they were older and/or female. I had hardly heard any of their stuff, but occasionally saw someone cool wearing a SY t-shirt, so thought they must be good. Now I'm in my 40s and married so no longer need to try and impress girls, I can safely say that they are not.
i've been trying to give longer reviews to albums i don't like to try to articulate on why i don't like them, but i don't really have anything to say about this; it's just boring to me. only exception is the last song which was pretty good. sonic youth have always been a pretty mediocre band to my taste, and i know i probably just don't get them, but i did expect at least a little more from this i guess. 2/5, honestly can't tell if this deserves to be on the list or not, though there is already a lot of sonic youth here
Wasn't sure what I was getting into listening to this. I assumed punk. More indy, good old fashioned 80's garage band is what it sounds like to me. I don't mind it, the mix of vocals is cool, weird, sometimes bad. And like I said - the music feels like a bunch of buddies that know how to play their instruments well are jamming in a garage in 1986. Not sure that I will ever seek this out to listen to it, but I didn't mind it.
Sounds very experimental and noisy in all kinds of weird ways. Wouldnt surprise me if there is some genius tracks in there that I'm simply not able to appreciate. "Shadow of a doubt" was alright but overall not for me
I now fully believe that one of the members of Sonic Youth started this project of 1001 albums to get people to listen to their shitty music. It’s impossible to think someone outside of the band thought that four (fucking four!!!) of Sonic Youth’s albums are “must listens before you die” when we haven’t even tapped into a number of band’s that I’m fully expecting to be on this list. This better be the last album from SY or I might have to walk away. In summary, same garbage that was in the other 3 albums.
This is strike four from these folks. The critics love them. Nobody loves the critics. Great album to ignore in the background.
Chaotic music paired with understated vocals. Sonic Youth are great when they stick to that formula, but to their credit they like to experiment with different stylings. Unfortunately they aren't successful. The artsy far out songs don't quite hit for me, it's just wierd without any appearent purpose. My least favorite album of theirs thus far.
I prefer the previous Sonic Youth albums to this one
How many Sonic Youth Albums belong on this list? It's not a bad jam but c'mon
I swear I like some sonic youth but not this one
4/10… noise rock / alternative rock / *1986
Oh look. Another sonic youth album. Bleh.
p554. 1986. 2 stars. Noisy and pretentious 80s Stateside alt-rock from the critics darlings. 5 of their albums on the list? FFS. Don't believe the hype.
ok
Started off well but then it felt like they forgot they were trying to record an album with songs on it. Occasionally, they'd remember about the songs, but then get distracted again. Really really can't wait to listen to the other *four* Sonic Youth albums on this list.
Much like my experience with Sebadoh, I had trouble getting into this album’s grating aesthetic. One of the more challenging releases of Pioneer Valley rock.
Some of these songs are literally just some bullshit guitar stuff
not totally my jam but still aight
ehhh
Good that you experiment, but for my ears playing out of tune on purpose doesn't make it better. I'll give you an extra point for originality anyhow. 5/10
Second Sonic Youth. It has been a really, really fucking long time since I listened to Daydream Nation. I pulled it 521 albums ago, to be precise. I'm genuinely surprised that I haven't rolled a Sonic Youth album sooner given that five of them are on this list. Anyways, I remember little from Daydream Nation. I thought the female vocals were tepid and the early alternative sound was unremarkable, though that's about it. It isn't looking good for the rest of their discography given that I'm pretty sure Daydream Nation was their most acclaimed release. Given that this album I'm about to listen to is their first release to be included on the list, my expectations for it are understandably lower, though I'll go in with an open mind nonetheless. Here goes. Very Velvet Underground, huh? I'm still not a Sonic Youther, sadly. I think I can very safely be pinned as a Sonic Geriatric. That's right, I'm old school (even though I almost exclusively favour music released after the time of this album). Anyways, I didn't gel with this music. M-slur disclaimer and all, but this music is very MILLENNIAL-coded thanks to its dudebro stoner vocals. The post punk-esque instrumentals are occasionally interesting thanks to their heavy, dense sound, neat effects and deliberate songwriting, though for the most part I thought they were a bit tepid, meandering and lost on me. Overall, this album was a bit of a bore, though I commend the concise runtime. Book time. This album cemented the band's lineup and was "...the first of the band's truly great, genre-defining works." The album was recorded in a small room, which lead the band to focus on melodic songwriting so that they could hear each other. The entry closes out by calling this album "...rock rebuilt and retold in a strange and thrilling new language." Wikipedia says this album was warmly received by critics and has been met with enduring acclaim, most notably for being a bit of a black sheep in their discography. Neil Young and the frontman of Pavement also like this album. It doesn't appear to have charted at all, however. I haven't really heard much of a case for why this album is influential, though I can believe it was ahead of the curve. Whether the remaining Sonic Youth albums earn their place remains to be seen (I think three list albums from these guys is about right), though for the time being I'm happy to let this one through. I cosign this inclusion.
Måste säga att jag föredrog den totalsågade grunge-indieskivan från igår. Det här va lite för mycket flipp för flippets skull. Finns några fina popdängor här också, men Sonic youth är inte riktigt ätmogna än. Det tar sig om en eller ett par skivor.
Dom gasar på med, hmm. Är det art rock? Indie? Känns iaf som igår fast lite sämre.
picks: shadow of a doubt, madonna, sean and me
An absolute chore
It's got a lot of experimental energy with the scattered frantic instrumentals which I'm sure they were going for. It doesn't make music that I want to listen to on repeat which is 80% of why I listen in the first place.
A little too gothic for my taste. I thought the way they processed the instruments was interesting, the distorted feel added a lot to the vibe of the album. Favorite Tracks: Starpower Death to Our Friends
Kjedelig?
All the songs sounds similar, album was overall meh to me. There are some Sonic Youth albums I like but I guess this wasn’t one of them
вродь со вкусом, но аппетита не вызывает. вместо "green light" предпочту электрический стул. "marilyn moore" приглашает на дозу полисорба. бл местами насток хуево что даж норм я уже не знаю. обложка ебавальна👍 пс. чем глубже в список "1001 альбом...", тем больше начинаешь любить роковую малышечку Бритни Спирс.
Ive been doing this for just about 2 months and I have gotten stuck with two Sonic Youth albums already. This one's title, Evol, is the opposite of “love,” and I deeply opposite of love Sonic Youth. As I've said before, Kim is the biggest issue here. At least here she is more whispery, which is preferable to the novocaine howl. Thurston just leans toward pretention and noise too often (see In The Kingdom #19). Kim, though… take “Secret Girl,” reciting weak poetry in vocal bursts that sound like she had to run down the street to get to the studio in time to gasp then out. That said, this isn't as bad as Sister. This feels more gothic, more 80s, more drawn from Joy Division… listen to those opening chords on Madonna, Sean, and Me, which feels like the rough draft of something ive actually enjoyed by someone else. That vibe starts on Tom Violence, and carries throughout. But the best bits of this album are of another piece altogether. Between about half of Green Light until Kim starts up in Secret Girl, there is cleansing discord, not too pointlessly painfully loud, but clearly a palate cleanser after the rest of this. That's what makes Madonna so relatively good… it sounds like something filled with potential going over the edge into simpleton yearnings. But that is the end of it. More 2* than Sister was, but that is nitpicking, because Sister is pretty bad.
It wasn't so bad I wanted to shut it off, but I really did not like this album. Just noise, didn't like how almost any of the lyrics sounded, the instruments were fine sometimes? Something about Sonic Youth just bothers me.
pretty bad honestly. nothing special, just some instrumentals and they don't sing much
Womon on covor = evol
I liked Sister more than I expected, but EVOL feels like Sonic Youth are trying to be more melodic but don't really have the tunes yet.
Another classic album that I am luke warm on. It's just alright, the music, the singing, also not much variety. I'm sure they inspired other bands and it was innovative and all that but it's just not my thing.
Bubble Gum
Wasn't into this. Looked back at my previous Sonic Youth reviews and I keep saying "it almost sounds like something I'd like." I felt that here too. I can't really explain why I don't like it and again I was going to say maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but that's exactly what I said in my last Sonic Youth review. Maybe it just isn't my thing. Fav song: Shadow of a Doubt Least fav: Secret Girl
It's so hard to rate an album when it's a style I just can't relate to. I try with Sonic Youth and I just can't.
Can’t wait for THREE more Sonic Youth albums. Can some of the fat from this list be cut?
It's a little bit less unlistenable than Dirty. 2/5
ehh
It sure has its moments, but doesn't manage to really interest me
Interesting but not *interesting*. Didn't really get much out of it apart from a few grunge head nodding moments.
I could never get into Sonic Youth, but I don’t think they’d care. After the first few songs, the album crumbles into noisy wah-wah for the last 20 minutes, like drunk college students banging around on instruments late on a Thursday night. The only difference is, the students didn’t record their efforts.
on my not need to listen list
Idk anymore
I don't think this one come so quick behind Magazine helped.
This one is exhausting to listen to.
Nothing without Kim Gordon. Juno was right.
A bit pretentious and droning, yet common enough to play in the background. Minor key alt rock noise.
Sonic Youth were definitely different for 1986. They weren’t classic rock, they weren’t exactly new wave, they definitely weren’t hair metal, and weren’t exactly punk either. They were a mix of different genres and influences that would eventually become grunge. But they weren’t quite that either. They were like a proto-grunge. You could hear what was coming, but there was also a kind of poppy-ness, along with some alternative and harder elements too. That all being said, it didn’t knock my socks off. It’s ok, but it’s not like the songwriting or musicianship is amazing or anything. As influential as it was, it was only mildly enjoyable.
Meh.
Är inte emot den här typen av oljud rent generellt, ibland fångar det en på något speciellt och inte alltid förklarligt sätt. Det hände dock inte den här gången.
I really try to like Sonic Youth so bad... Favorite track: Shadow of a Doubt
Mmmmm, me parece que solamente no es para mi. Medio medio
Not for me
Did not have chance to give this full listen, but agree with many of the comments, just not a great vibe for me.
Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 3/5
2.5/5 — Good album, just not really my style. The guitar tones and melodies are pretty, but it leans heavily on long guitar sections and I prefer more lyrics. Glad I listened, but I probably wouldn’t search for it again
Isn’t really grabbing me…
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. 2⭐️
I remember Sonic. Youth being the darlings of the music press back in the day. I even bought one of their albums. Never got them though. With the best will in the world their stuff does nothing for me. This one started strongly but then faded away rather quickly. 2..5
I don't get it. I love pavement, I like lots of grunge, I like avant garde pop, I like indie. I experienced the full weight of the 90s. I just cannot ever get with Sonic Youth. Where's the melodies and harmonies? What do people like about them?
Best Song: Death To Our Friends. It is not lost on my that my favourite song here is the instrumental one. Worst Song: In The Kingdom #19. The backing music was alright, but the attempted edgelord narrative was a totally uninteresting. Overall: It isn't awful, but it feels like music that is trying very hard to fill a particular aesthetic more than trying to be that enjoyable to listen to. And since I'm not really interested in that aesthetic, it is a miss for me.
More like De-E.V.O.L. Top tracks: "Starpower," "Tom Violence"
Man, this just ain't it for me. Fucking sad mad alt rock but just angsty and eye rolling. Like, turning this on is just the RDJ eye roll gif on repeat.
--Tom Violence...hmm --Shadow of a Doubt...never loved Kim Gordon's whisper-singing but there's a general lightness to this that I enjoy --Starpower...a little bored by this one --In the Kingdom #19...woof --Green Light...I'm already tired, Thurston --Death to Our Friends...definitely noise rock --Secret Girl...sure --Marilyn Moore...zombie walking to the end --Expressway to Yr. Skull...I have listened to and enjoyed Sonic Youth before. I am not enjoying this listen --Bubblegum...something a little poppier. of course it's a cover
Not extra my brand of rock music I enjoy. Felt all over the place.
This is not an album I would ever want to listen to again. It's just scraped into a 2, in that it's not as awfully obnoxious as some of the hip-hop and death metal shit they've got going around here, but altogether my ears thought it was pretty bad.
Meh. Rough and evolving. Not there yet. Sonic Youth has a harsh, experimental sound generally. Later albums, they managed to make it Click and pull off something that should not work. For this album... it still doesn't.
Sonic Youth at their rawest and most unpolished, and it does feel like it. The album is fine and feels like a place holder for where they would eventually go, but definitely not my favorite work by them. Death of Our Friends in particular feels like a precursor for their later work. I liked Shadow of a Doubt, but overall I was pretty dissapointed with this.
What was the point of this?
I like Sonic Youth. I enjoyed them a lot in the early 90's and still will put them on. I don't like this album. Never did. It's not bad, but because I found them when I did this album kinda falls flat for me. It lays out where they are going but because they hadn't got there yet it's a miss. That and some wanker once told me it's like if Sonic Youth and The Cure had a baby. So whenever I hear this album I think of that.
The first two (maybe three) tracks were listenable. The rest was just an identity crisis. I've never heard anybody try so hard to sound like The Cure. This album was the equivalent of drunkenly butt-dialing your ex.
2.5 This is my fourth or fifth Sonic Youth album and I definitely got them in “descending importance” order. This one is fine, I guess? A little more indie/post-punk, I think it’s their earliest album represented? Is this their debut? Idk I don’t care enough to check. I liked the Kim-sung songs the most.
Noise. Not for me
I can’t get into their stuff
Felt like pretentious shit.
Gritty rock static.
this was one of the harder listens from my experience, noise rock isn’t really my thing, so despite listening to this whole album, I really couldn’t get into it. I found myself often losing attention on the music, as I didn’t think it was doing anything particularly interesting, bar a few rare segments, like the piano on secret girl, or the last track bubblegum. other than that, this really didn’t excite or interest me. Perhaps it would if I was in a different headspace. Not looking forward to inevitably seeing more of this band.
Still not a Sonic Youth fan no matter how many of these albums are thrown at me. I don't understand how so many of them are on this list.
Ok 2/5
For whatever reason, I just can’t get into sonic youth I listen to about half the album then just stopped. It all sounds the same to me.
A lot of noise on this album, some of it is not in tune, and a lot of it I didn’t really enjoy.
I once paid money for this album based on a recommendation and definitely regretted it. They have a little good stuff but not this many albums worth