Sonic Youth are one of the very few bands who still release stylistically progressive and artistically relevant records nearly three decades into their career.
Their late period output has belied their age and their last album, 2006's Rather Ripped, was easily their strongest since the band's untouchable string of releases between 1988's Sister and 1995's Washing Machine. This is because of the group's unfailing insistence on moving forward, and The Eternal, the perennial New Yorkers' fifteenth LP and first for indie rock haven Matador, continues this trend.
Where Rather Ripped improved upon the meandering Sonic Nurse, The Eternal turns up the volume and trims all the fat, and makes for Sonic Youth's most fluid and cohesive record in years. Its upbeat nature evokes their early '90s material, but this album has the art rock gods showing off new tricks, like the disco beat/call-and-answer rhythm of "Anti-Orgasm."
It's easily the most energetic and aggressive they've been since the Goo/Dirty era, yet they offset this with some subtle post-rock moments, like the Kim Gordon-led closer, "Massage The History," or the groove-based Lee Ranaldo cut, "What We Know" — which, as is often the case with Ranaldo's contributions, is the album's standout track.
The Eternal is arguably the best Sonic Youth record of this decade, but it's still very much a Sonic Youth album, and nothing here is particularly uncharacteristic. That said, the band have taken what they do best and made one of the most well-rounded records of their already outstanding career.
Sonic Youth - Antenna - Later... With Jools Holland - 2009
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