RSSAfter 17 years, the veteran alternative band Sonic Youth seempermanently forbidding to some, tediously familiar to others. Yetthough their 11th album,A Thousand Leaves (DGC), bears the sonicimprint of their unique tunings and does rock out at times, it's awelcoming change--a fulfilled but never complacent meditation onthe raveups of their early days filtered through the tunecraft oftheir early-'90s albums and the ambient experiments of the technogeneration.
"I've been with lots of boys and they've screwed me up," declaresSarge's Elizabeth Elmore on the opening track ofThe Glass Intact(Mud). Whereupon she proceeds to lay out a few of the many varieties ofscrewed-up experience--each one distinctly individual, each onestrangely recognizable. Guys who can't stand it when real girls dothis might try practicing to these rockin', well-crafted tunes.It'll be easy--just read along.
Playboy, May 1998
 | Apr. 1998 | June 1998 |  |