[Neongod]

I've gotta break this apart...

Sonic Youth is back in action yet again with one of its most toned-down albums to date.
Okay. I agree with that.

Gone is the moody, effervescent feel that soothed via "Sonic Nurse,"
Loved Nurse but I don't think moody is the best adjective.


Songwriting duties are divvyed up in the same similar fashion fans have come to love. Guitarist and singer Thurston Moore takes the cake with a handful of upbeat singsong tracks, and bassist/singer Kim Deal comes out swinging with her usual flamboyant bombast.
Yes, because the Kims look and sound so much alike. He should be demoted for that "oversight"

"Rats," Lee Ronaldo's contribution to the album, is another shining epic, but is overshadowed
Whoa whoa...overshadowed? Rats is as good as any other song on the album. I think we can all agree on that, regardless of our actual favorite.

The trick to liking Sonic Youth is to just lose oneself and not care about what's playing, no matter how absurd it may sound.
Maybe the Whitey album, but a few songs aside there's nothing absurd. And if I didn't care what was playing, I might as well be listening to the Bee-Gees. But I'm not.

But this delivery of songs seems to overreach and in a way negates the band's original mantra: to defeat the oversimplified melody machine and give a swift kick in the arse.
Does any band sound the same after 25 years?

and the loud, droning guitars found on "Turquoise Boy" definitely point to an unnerving sense of liberation.
What a minute, didn't I just read that you missed that part of SY?

But is it always OK to play loud and not care about the consequences?
Fucking make up your mind already.

While the streaming flutter of notes on "Incinerate" and "Reena" have an indelible charm and might be enough for some diehard fans
Actually a lot of die-hard fans are rather pissed about SY's new "indelible charm"

many of the songs fall short and seem to lack that tumult of inspiration that once drove the band to soaring heights.
They have new inspirations and they still can soar.

Here's a tip: Skip the first half of the album. What's found on the second half is much more redeeming and consistently fun.
Here's a tip: Know what you're talking about before you write your review. At least know the fucking band members name.

I want my 5 minutes back.