It is at this moment that my hibernating mind awakens from its semi-pleasant slumber and begins to bring forth thoughts from an inspiring source, the same source that has produced electrical activity in my brain for years. I'm moved to say the least. Yes folks, Sonic Youth have put out another long player and to call it inspiring is an understatement really. Murray Street, their sixteenth full-length album in a career that spans over two decades is an album that most definitely lives up to their legendary status as innovative songwriters and master experimenters of sound and language. This album is the first to fully incorporate long time Sonic Youth friend and collaborator Jim O' Rourke as a full-fledged Sonic Youth band member (they asked me, but I sadly had to decline because of a continuing education conflict--sorry dudes). Yes, it is going to be a very special summer for Sonic Youth fans with the new album being released and a tour already scheduled. Most of the North American dates of the tour are in August (Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA August 5th; 40 Watt Club Athens, GA August 6th) for both of which I already have secured my place in the audience.
Murray Street encompasses everything Sonic Youth has tried to convey through musical expression and more since the day they started releasing records. It has the pop song aesthetic of Daydream Nation as well as the avant-garde noise experiments present on their lesser-known SYR series and NYC Ghosts and Flowers. From the very first listen, I have been in awe of this masterpiece. For me, it is simply the right mix of sonic pleasure and rock n roll. It is really amazing how they have made an album just as experimental with the noisy stuff as it is with conventional "arena rock" style songwriting. To some it may seem like an odd mixture, but it's everything I've ever wanted to hear in a rock album. Murray Street seamlessly combines all of the good parts of the past few Sonic Youth releases and leaves the filler behind.
It will not surprise me to read other Murray Street reviews proclaiming the album to be the "Daydream Nation of the new millennium." However, why should we even compare this album to the quintessential Sonic Youth album of the eighties? It truly is in a league of its own, but so is Murray Street. Murray Street is the Sonic Youth of the new millennium. This album is by no means a repeat of anything SY has ever done in the past, so let's let them move on and let ourselves move on with them. This is a new era for Sonic Youth, an era I'm going to be very proud to be a part of. (If you're still dreaming of a daydream nation, you may be interested in knowing that I heard through the grapevine that SY is rehearsing a song or two from Daydream Nation to possibly play out on the road, one being "Candle.")
Murray Street is supposedly the second installment in a proposed trilogy covering the cultural history of lower Manhattan. In fact, Murray St. is actually the street where SY's studio Echo Canyon is located in Manhattan. SY had to vacate their studios for a little while during the recording phase of this album because of the September 11th tragedies that took place almost spitting distance from the studio. When they came back, all their equipment was in pretty good shape except for a lot of dust, according to information from the bands official website. After the tragedy, it is said that SYs recording sessions took on a special urgency and the album shows it every time it's played.
After listening to the album just a few times through, I've already picked my favorite tunes--"Disconnection Notice,""Karen Revisited," and "Rain on Tin." If I didn't know that Thurston had performed "Disconection Notice" before September 11th, I would think that it was a song about the tragedy since the literal closeness of the band to the scene and the period of time the album was recorded during. With lyrics like, "This is no direction/Prepare for the city/ Angels turn on heaven's light" and "Words and numbers spell out the price to pay/It simply states you're disconnected baby/See how easily it all slips away," I'm taken back to the day of the tragedy and revisit the desperation of the time--it really does slip away pretty easily. "Disconnection Notice" ineluctably sticks out in my mind as the best song on the album overall, but there are certain sections of songs that really strike the right chord in my nervous system and almost make me throw my bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit all over the floor because of the sheer power of the moment. "Rain on Tin" climbs to a climax that makes people around me embarrassed for me when they see the reaction it evokes from my rock n roll soul. If you see me swerving down the road one day, I'm not drunk on alcohol, I'm trippin' on a fresh sonic groove.
I've already read reviews and comments posted on the internet slamming "Karen Revisited" and Lee's lyrics and vocal presentation by saying "Lee sucks" or "Lee can't sing" or "this song is most definitely the low point on the album" suggesting Lee to be a tragic flaw of the band. Where the hell are these people's heads? Of course, opinions are a lot like assholes--everybody has one and they all stink...this is one of the high points of the album in my putrid puke-inducing opinion--so there you go. This song brings forth a bitter-sweet melancholy, more sweet than bitter and is one of the best Lee songs that has ever been released. This is actually the lighter side of Lee. (To hear maximum Lee Ranaldo, pick up some of his solo material, preferably "Broken Circle/Spiral Hill." It scares me to tell you the truth; it is filled with darkly beautiful poetry and eerie noise that would make Leatherface put down his chainsaw and run for cover--I strongly recommend that everyone hear this album at least once. Your mind doesn't function the same afterwards. Side effects include sweating, nausea, clammy skin, fever, confusion, and a delightful tremor--as Lee warns "Proceed with caution.") Now, back to "Karen Revisited"--the lyrics to this song are probably the best on the album. It climaxes at the end of the lyric part of the song with Lee yelling "We kissed/Time Slipped/Hard edged/Tight lipped/See you/Sometime/Ask me if I care" only after Lee describes a women with an unorthodox view on living obviously influenced by hallucinogenic trips and a fickle mind. Lee sings "Been thru a million kix looking for the one that sticks." After Lee beseeches "ask me if I care," the song swerves off the road into a collision of feedback and a wash of noise that lasts several minutes and represents the SYR series aesthetic.
"Plastic Sun" is the only song on the album that doesn't really seem to fit. It starts with this quirky little guitar part and continues with boring lyrics sung by Kim. It sticks out like a sore thumb and it hurts like one too. It wouldn't seem so painful as a b-side to a single or included on a compilation. However, on Murray Street, it just doesn't make the cut. It throws the balance of the album way off and it never really seems to fully recover. "Sympathy for the Strawberry" comes in after it, and it would seem to fit fine if it weren't preceded by the piece of shit I just mentioned. Kim's lyrics vastly improve, and the musical content is also up to par, but it would take a classic SY song to bring back balance and it just isn't that. I'm pretty fickle sometimes though; I may change my mind on this one.
Overall, I give Murray Street a 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. It would have been a hair shy of a perfect 10 if "Plastic Sun" hadn't been included, but unfortunately it's there to stay. When it's all said and done, it's easy to tell that I love this album and it will be one of my favorite albums of all time in all likelihood. If you decide to purchase this album, and I strongly recommend that you do, you will definitely get your money's worth. SONIC LIFE, SONIC DEATH!!!
Keep rockin'.