Top 5 Albums of 2009 - #4

Sonic Youth
The Eternal

The music press seems to feel the need to automatically over appreciate new albums by artists that have solid reputations for making great records. Although I enjoyed both Murray Street (2002) and Sonic Nurse (2004), I am not in total agreement with the seemingly unanimous accolades those two records received. I really feel that the Sonic Youth album everyone should be jumping for joy over is this one. At this point its an overstatement, but these guys just don't seem to age at all. The Eternal is just as fresh and biting as something made by a band in their 20's (let alone 50's!). Hearkening back to their Butch Vig days, the band tear through opener "Sacred Trickster" as if their lives depended on it. Kim Gordon is as feisty as ever here but we also find her at possibly her most melodic, harmonizing with Thurston Moore on "Leaky Lifeboat" and "Poison Arrow". While nothing quite bubbles over the way their 80's output was, the energy stays high throughout, each member taking on active roles in each other's songs. Gordon and Lee Ranaldo even duet on "What We Know", one of the most kick-ass groovers the band has ever put to tape. The bass work is at its most alive in years thanks to Pavement's Mark Ibold on his first record with the band. Leaving Gordon to once again add a third guitar to mix, the songs rarely sound cluttered, each player adding their own layer to the overall sound. Although "Massage The History" is a meandering closer, The Eternal proves to be a highlight of SY's career.