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.

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

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 the 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 in line 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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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

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

Remember that friend from school who started teaching himself guitar in his bedroom and then started a band with some other friends a month later and now they're playing their first "show" at the VFW and excitedly shoving a flier in your hands cuz "you're gonna come, right? RIGHT?" Yeah, that's how Sonic Youth sounds to me. If there's a Master Key to understanding this band I'd love to see it because they make no sense to me.

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 💩🪠🤡🪠☢️🏳️

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.

“Bad Moon Rising” to “Daydream Nation” was Sonic Youth’s imperial phase, each album weird, different from the rest, and totemic. “EVOL” might have the strongest song in “Expressway to Yr. Skull” (Neil Young seems to think so). The beauty in these records lies in the way that they’re short, experimental stories - there’re the bangers, but I never skip the strange ones, which have a mesmeric quality. “In the Kingdom #19” has Ranaldo invents its own form, race car free jazz, but the band wasn’t hanging around, left it sui generis. I’ve memorised this record and its siblings.

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

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

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????

I’d never really listened to Sonic Youth, just a band I was vaguely familiar with from my youth. It started strong. I could hear the creativity, I could hear the artistry, what I couldn’t hear as the album progressed was enough music to keep me interested. This is where the 5* rating system falls down. It’s better than a 3 but nowhere near good enough for me to be a 4. It’s knocking on the door of 3.5 or a 65% ish score, but I’m going to have to be tight and mark it 3 stars

This isn’t good music.

Sonic Youth: Evol: A very interesting album. The variety is insane, with a lot of really cool instruments and different sounds and styles. I enjoyed most of it, though sometimes it goes on a little bit too long with certain ambient stuff. Pretty cool and not what I normally listen to. 8/10

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.

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.

Not easy listening - this is haaaaard. Pre-grungy punk, spoken word lyrics, repeating, thumping guitar beats, dark lyrics, bad singing. It would make an incredible live show, I'm sure.

evol, huh? im open to it.

Atrocious, one of the worst albums I have ever heard. The "music" lacked any coherent rhythm or reason whatsoever, the vocalists sounded completely tone deaf when they weren't offering mercy to my ears by lazily whispering songs, and the lyrics sounded like drunken attempts at shoddy beatnik poetry. I genuinely have no idea how anyone could enjoy this irredeemable garbage of sounds they claim is music.

Shit

Dark, noisy but always interesting. More than once I did that thing dogs do where I tilted my head at an unexpected sound. Borders on Post Rock at times, which I love.

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

I did not know this, and found it very enjoyable, somewhere between "Sister" and "Daydream Nation" despite preceding both. I guess I'll dig further into their catalog. Lung Leg is a great nickname!

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

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.

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.

Second Sonic Youth album in 2 days. Like the first one I reviewed, not sure how often I'll go back to this (if at all). It's less punk than the last one, a little more noise rock, but the indie rock elements still shine through. I liked "Shadow of A Doubt", reminded me of The Cure a little. The album is okay, I preferred the other one.

Not their best but a start of something awesome!

There are better SY records in my opinion

Kinda cool. I wasn’t enthralled but I got through the album

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 finally understand what my high school teachers must have felt when dealing with the class dullard. Instead of applying himself, accomplishing his best, he shits out the worst essay ever about like. Why crunchy peanut butter makes the best taco filling. Sonic Youth are that to me. They always have songs I really enjoy and are impressed with, luring me in, the sirens. And then oh fuck it’s bad spoken word! Noooo not not that interesting noise!!!

Okay. I have never really understood the appeal of Sonic Youth. Just doesn't hit for me. Justice for Nardwuar.

Sound of a band disappearing up their own arseholes. It's not completely irredeemable , but not an enjoyable album all the same 2*

So many people rave about this band and I just don't get it. All I hear is noise. I really tried, but this fell short for me.

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

More garbage 1

I dislike this album. Lots of thrashing, yelling and other sounds full of angst and nihilism. Miserable.

Again? One of the most overrated bands on this list. They are on here at least twice if not more...

Sonic youth are excessively featured on this list, so much so that my algorithm thinks I really like them. I don't. This wasn't bad but nothing special, which is a 1* in my book (some tracks like in the kingdom bumped this down from a 2).

I listened to this album three times in a row, and I couldn't for the life of me get a single memorable vibe from what should've been a solid alt punk sound.

I don’t think anyone could justify this album being on a list of 10,000.

Maybe I’m not punk rock enough but I’m pretty sure this just sounds like shit

Pretentious garbage

Wtf is this. Not fun at all to listen to. These people are troubled.

EVOL, my first Sonic Youth album, which I probably bought in early 1987. It always felt kinda scary to me and still does: packed with ghost stories and noise rock beat poetry murder ballads. It’s one that my favorite tunes shifted over the years (originally probably ‘In the Kingdom #19,’ ‘Starpower,’ ‘Shadow of a Doubt,” and ‘Bubblegum’ and now ‘Expressway to yr Skull’ and ‘Tom Violence’). I’ve actually been thinking about this album, anticipating that it would come up and wondering how I would rate it and if I would feel like it is essential. Answer turns out to be 4.5 rounding up and yes, yes people really ought to listen to this, because even within Sonic Youth’s discography it’s something different and surprising.

This hit just right yesterday and I became absorbed in the goth-grunge soundscapes.

Another solid Sonic Youth album. And same with the other 4, Kim Gordon is where it's at. The guitar work is outstanding.

Such an awesome album. “Tom Violence” showed the path they would take. I love how the catchy melodies devolve into chaos and coalesce again. “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Secret Girl” show off Kim in an eerily seductive way, like walking through an abandoned house with ancient ghosts. “Madonna, Sean, and me” (AKA “Expressway to yr Skull”) is another example of lofty, catchy anthems which disappear into Sonic Youth’s trademark cacophony.

Absolutely loved the bleak textures on this one

My fave Sonic Youth up to date.

Another gem of a Sonic Youth record. This one was featured in ‘Our band could be your life’, and I by chance read the Sonic Youth chapter around the same time I bought this on vinyl, so listened to it a lot while having that wider context of what was going on. I think that makes this even better for me, like having a commentary. Like most Sonic Youth, it is cram packed with an unfair amount of ideas and creativity. Leave some for the rest of us, ey? It pushes every boundary, even more impressive given it was realeased during the end of hair rock dominating the scene and the start of grunge taking over. I believe too SST were eager to get this out to help shift them away from hardcore punk, so there’s another genre it fights. I read a quote that says something like this is a key DIY record that ends up being ‘do anything yourself’, and I think that sums this up well.

i never knew sonic youth could sound like this... very nice gothic-esque sound, some awesome experimental stuff too, just loved it and will be listening again very soon

Masterpiece, first three songs are all as perfect as music gets. The whole album is just one long begging the question of "How the hell did they get the guitar to sound that way."

A fun little Easter egg for everyone: flip the spelling of this album title and then try reading it again. Believe me, you won’t regret it ❤️😏!

WE’RE GONNA KILLLLL… THE CALIFORNIA GIRLSSSSS!

I'm hooked. This album knows how to make evol to me. Where does that guitar come from? Where is that guitar going? Bubblegum rules. The future is here now.

🪨 cold classic.

Dissonant, noisy, experimental, and weird; Sonic Youth are yet another band that someone is either going to love or absolutely hate. Personally, I love them. I went through a huge Sonic Youth phase in university, but I actually haven’t listened to them much since then. Listening to EVOL today and I am excited to dive back in and explore their music again.

Sonic Youth can do no wrong

its alt or indie rock and i guessed it its surprising the album is as old, it has a very interesting modern sounding. enjoyed it greatly.

My musical journey: Small boy: Glam and Radio 1 chart music (Tiger Feet, This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us, Crazy Horses). Big boy: Punk and beyond (The Jam, The Clash, The Birthday Party, Siouxsie). 20s: Full-on music addict. Anything new and interesting (C86, Blast First, 4AD bands - Cocteau Twins, Shop Assistants, The Pastels, Killdozer, Pixies, Big Black, SONIC YOUTH!). Anything old that influenced the new (The Shangri-Las, Bo Diddley, The Kinks, Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers). Beyond 20s: Still obsessed, but more narrow and picky in my tastes nowadays. Current favourites: Westside Cowboy, Humdrum, Tulpa. All with roots in my musical past. I still love all the music I grew up with (why wouldn't I?) and Sonic Youth still blow me away. They were like nothing else that had gone before. Detuned guitars, feminist, punk attitude...Bad Moon Rising, Sister, Daydream Nation, Dirty, Goo and Evol are all still essential albums. Radical and quite, quite brilliant.

all time fav

Loving this. Sonic youth has yet to let me down. So interesting all the way through and completely separate of the rest of what we’ve listened to but uniquely them. Maybe they are the great band they’ve always been billed to be. Too bad they were mean to Nardwuar.

я заебалась подбирать прилагательные и просто чувствую его на 100 проц

Like a band jamming unafraid of making noise for the sheer hell of it. Whats not to EVOL?

This album was so ahead of its time.

I never really "got" Sonic Youth. But this was changed things for me. I really love this record. The songs are all well composed and perfectly executed.

Forever my favorite Sonic Youth album, and also one of the greatest atmospheric noise-rock albums ever. This album really takes those Joy Division gothic, monotone, and reverb sounds established only 5 or 6 years prior and elevates them to something horrific, crushing, and at times jaw-droppingly dystopian. The waves of distorted guitars, reverb, and tremolo-picked delay on these songs make the whole album feel like the unfolding of some awful disaster, a disaster that ushers in the end of an already empty, macabre, and dreadful world, one where the sun never shines, and the soul has been sapped out of just about everything. I'd say this album comes together to form a strong, singular atmosphere - but each song is still very much unique-sounding and brings something special to the table. 'In the Kingdom #19' is maybe the most industrial punk song here, with a killer bass backing from none other than Mike Watt. It's like what standard punk rock in a dark parallel universe would sound like - the way the song screeches, pauses, and stutters before devolving into nothing but feedback over Ronaldo's ugly and gory spoken word piece. 'Marilyn Moore' feels like being in a single room as it's collapsing in on itself, just absolute crushing feedback as Moore howls off-key about the struggles of this troubled protagonist, painting such a horrifically vivid picture of the scene. I just love how the band is constantly able to dish out these incredible short bursts of reverb or delay-drenched guitar, not just on this song but the whole album. They do some incredible shit with guitars on this record that really brings many of their contemporaries to shame. This is true dissonance. With all that said, there are subtle moments of beauty here that sprout out of seemingly nothing. For example, the reverby guitars, synth, and thumping bass hits of 'Shadow of a Doubt' over Kim's hushed vocals are such a genuinely serene moment, like a lone flower sprouting from miles of debris. Or the surprise piano in the second half of 'Secret Girl.' And I'd argue 'Madonna, Sean, and Me' (or whatever title it chooses to go by, there are many) is maybe the most easily digestible song here, parts of it, especially in the beginning, with these wholesome chords, remind me of a group like Have a Nice Life, nearly 20 years before the fact. And this closing track finishes with this horrowing dark ambient piece that's actually an infinite locked groove on the vinyl version. And I know it's a bonus track, but I really love the song 'Bubblegum'; it doesn't really fit in the mix here, but on its own, it's a pretty great punk rock track. I love this thing to death. Just the atmosphere it paints from start to finish. Sonic Youth remains undeniably influential in this world of dark, moody music - so many future acts would draw from the superb dark atmosphere construction (and deconstruction) of EVOL.

I think I have written this for every sonic youth album so far, but u love noise rock and no one does it better than sonic youth. The first three song on this album are so good. I love Kim Gordon, and shadow of a doubt is one of her best songs. High 5!

Shadow of a Doubt. Fuck yeah.

Grungy and moody I like it

Short and creepy

Absolutely loved this album- wasn’t expecting to like it so much! This one’s going in the rotation

Remettons les pendules à l'heure. Nous sommes en 1986 et si tu allumes la radio ou ouvres un magazine grand public de l'époque, et bien c'est l'enfer. C'est le règne du synthétiseur plastique, des batteries avec tellement de réverbération qu'elles sonnent comme des coups de feu dans un canyon, et des permanentes qui défient les lois de la gravité autant que celles du bon goût. Le rock est en train de devenir une caricature de stade, gonflé aux hormones et vide de sens. Et pendant ce temps-là, dans le Lower East Side de New York, au milieu des seringues usagées et des loyers pas chers, quatre types sont en train de bricoler la bombe à retardement qui va finir par exploser à la face du monde quelques années plus tard. Cet album, E.V.O.L., c’est le point de bascule. C'est le moment précis où Sonic Youth arrête d'être un collectif d'art contemporain bruyant pour devenir le plus grand groupe de rock du monde souterrain. C’est la fin de la récréation No Wave et le début des choses sérieuses. Pourquoi 5 sur 5 ? Parce que c’est la définition même de la perfection imparfaite. C’est sale, c’est glauque, mais bordel, qu’est-ce que c’est beau. D’abord, il y a cette pochette, une photo de Richard Kern. Une fille, Lung Leg, qui a l'air de sortir d'un mauvais rêve ou d'une nuit blanche trop chargée. C’est granuleux, c’est rose fluo et noir. Ça ne te vend pas du rêve, ça te vend de la réalité crasseuse. Le titre lui-même est une blague cynique : "E.V.O.L." c'est l'amour (LOVE) à l'envers ou "Evolution" tronquée. Choisissez votre camp, de toute façon, ça finit mal. Musicalement, c'est l'arrivée du messie, j'ai nommé Steve Shelley. Avant lui, Sonic Youth avait des batteurs qui jouaient des percussions tribales sur des bidons. C'était marrant cinq minutes, mais Steve Shelley, lui, c'est une métronomie humaine. Il vient du hardcore, il frappe dur, il frappe droit. Et soudain, les délires de guitares de Thurston Moore et Lee Ranaldo trouvent un ancrage. Ils ne flottent plus dans le vide intersidéral de l'avant-garde ; ils ont une colonne vertébrale. C'est grâce à cette rythmique implacable que le groupe peut se permettre de torturer ses Jazzmasters avec des tournevis, des baguettes et des accordages que même un mathématicien ne comprendrait pas. Ce disque sonne comme une nuit d'été à New York où l'air est tellement lourd et humide que tu as l'impression de respirer de l'eau sale. Il y a une tension sexuelle et mortifère qui traverse tout l'album. Prenez "Shadow of a Doubt", Kim Gordon ne chante pas, elle te murmure à l'oreille des secrets inavouables sur fond de larsen contrôlé. On est dans un film noir, assis sur la banquette arrière d'une voiture conduite par un psychopathe, et on adore ça. C’est l’antithèse de la pop joyeuse, c’est de la pop pour les gens qui aiment regarder les accidents de la route. Il y a une magie noire dans la façon dont ils mélangent la mélodie et le chaos. "Starpower" commence presque comme une chanson normale, un truc éthéré qui pourrait passer à la radio si la radio n'était pas tenue par des lâches, et puis ça dérape. Toujours. Ça finit par grincer, par hurler. Les guitares ne sonnent pas comme des guitares, elles sonnent comme des cloches d'église fondues, comme des freins de métro, comme des sirènes d'alarme au loin. Moore et Ranaldo ne jouent pas des notes, ils sculptent du son, ils prennent de la texture et te la jettent au visage. Et puis il y a "Tom Violence" et son riff d'intro. C'est hypnotique, c'est la bande-son idéale pour fixer le plafond pendant quatre heures en se demandant ce qu'on a fait de sa vie. C'est d'une langueur monotone qui te drogue littéralement. On sent que le groupe maîtrise enfin son art : ils ne font plus du bruit pour faire du bruit, ils utilisent le bruit pour peindre des paysages. Des paysages urbains, dévastés, en ruine, mais des paysages quand même. Mais le clou du spectacle, la raison pour laquelle cet album mérite sa note maximale et sa place au panthéon, c'est la fin. La trilogie finale qui mène à "Madonna, Sean and Me" (ou "Expressway to Yr. Skull", peu importe comment vous l'appelez). Ce morceau est un monument. Neil Young l'a qualifié de "plus grande chanson de guitare jamais écrite", et qui sommes-nous pour contredire le Loner ? C'est une véritable épopée. Ça commence cool, ça monte, ça devient épique, et puis ça se dissout. Littéralement. Le morceau ne s'arrête pas, il s'évapore... Sur le vinyle original, le groupe avait gravé le sillon de fin pour qu'il boucle à l'infini. Si tu ne te levais pas pour relever le bras de ta platine, tu pouvais passer le reste de ta vie à écouter ce bourdonnement final, ce résidu de larsen. C’est une idée de génie, c’est l’infini mis en musique. C’est la musique qui refuse de mourir, qui reste là, tapie dans l'ombre, prête à te sauter à la gorge. "E.V.O.L." n'est pas juste un album de rock. C'est un manifeste esthétique, c'est la preuve qu'on peut être intellectuel sans être chiant, qu'on peut être punk sans jouer trois accords à 200 à l'heure, et qu'on peut être américain en détestant l'Amérique de Reagan. C’est sombre, c’est vénéneux, c’est addictif. C'est l'album qui a ouvert la porte à tout ce qui allait suivre. Sans "E.V.O.L.", pas de Nirvana (Cobain a tout piqué ici, les structures, les larsens, l'attitude), pas de My Bloody Valentine, pas de post-rock. C'est la racine de l'arbre généalogique de tout ce qui est cool dans la musique moderne. Alors oui, 5 sur 5 et c'est non négociable. C'est un disque qu'on n'écoute pas pour se divertir, mais pour se transformer. Une fois que tu as goûté à ce poison-là, les tubes du Top 50 ont le goût de l'eau tiède. C'est une claque magistrale, froide et définitive.

Sonic Youth is wasted on the young 🗑️🗑️🗑️

❤️ 🫁🦵 (98/100)

Excellent