Sonic Youth
Sonic Nurse
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Sonic Youth have found a happy medium between post-modern art rock and freeform guitar jazz that would make both Velvet Underground and Nico proud to have existed. Sometimes they aimlessly meander in more of a jam-band kind of variation, but it’s clear that they have their own reasons for doing so. Their synergy combines indie rock accessibility with atonal proclamations that can wear thin on the less ambitious listener. Lyrics are never at the forefront, and instead serve as background musical bookmarks. Sonic Youth have maintained their status as vanguard pioneers in this kind of sound that would complement the art gallery world of New York’s East Village Soho district. Their latest, Sonic Nurse, continues the path they set with their last and possibly second best effort, Murray Street.

You can always depend on Sonic Youth to be Sonic Youth. Each effort comes equipped with a new agenda and their trademark off-key nuances, but they consistently portray the same dynamic structure that they’ve mastered from the start. Except from the considerable jump from gutsy, avant-garde fare Sister and Daydream Nation (still their masterpiece) to the Alternative Nation bombast of 1992's Dirty, every consequent record for the band hasn’t been growing necessarily but resting comfortably. You certainly don’t expect them to suddenly drop their style and go all techno or make a folk record. Experimental Jet-Set, Trash & No Star’s bizarre song destruction somehow manages to ricochet into the harmonious patterns expanded upon on the underrated Washing Machine, which contained one of their best overlong yet sparkling gems “The Diamond Sea.” However, their last record, Murray Street with producer Jim O’Rourke on board, seemed to summarize so much in so little time, and the band played off their strengths in the best way possible since their consummated crest in the early 90s. With each record you get the sense that they refuse to construct a song conventionally with a verse/chorus/verse routine, but instead, the complete antithesis, in a way that suggests that each note is conceived on the spot.

Sonic Youth continues in the same spirit, which doesn’t opt for anything entirely jaw-dropping, but the loyal fans will have nothing to complain about. The powerhouse opening number, "Pattern Recognition," is propulsive and fierce, six holy minutes of brand name Sonic Youth guitar intimidation led by Gordon’s disconcerting vocal bustle, that most definitely recalls the abovementioned Nico. Less successful is when Gordon sings without any deference for melody such as in the bizarrely titled “Mariah Carrey and the Arthur Doyle Handcream." Legendary frontman Thurston Moore gets his own time in the spotlight with the closing mid-tempo blitz of “Peace Attack” hinting at a more political arena without shoving it down the listener’s throat. The best thing that can be said is that even when the band has a tendency to float on without any reliable destination, they are never boring and consistently engaging on a craftsmanship level. They all work off of each other in the same way that great jazz and blues artists do. You constantly wonder where they are going to go next and that anticipation carries even the seven-minute sensual detour of “I Love You Golden Blue” which calmly suggests slumber by candlelight.

Overall the record is as strapping as some of their best material, even if their choice is not to evolve beyond their signature sound. Quite frankly, they don’t need to. All the proof in their abiding talent lies with their last two records. Sonic Nurse may not be the groundbreaking, life-altering opus that is Daydream Nation, but why curse a band for not being as ground-breaking as they once were. At least they refuse to give up and more importantly, they never make an uninteresting addition to their distinguished resume.

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