Sonic Youth: The Eternal

The whole ‘youth’ thing may raise a smile, but Hoboken’s finest have settled into a fairly consistent groove, much like their spiritual godfather Neil Young, determined to grow old disgracefully. The Eternal has the band beefed up to a fivesome (with Mark ‘Pavement’ Ibold on bass) and capitalising on the vital energy of their recent revisiting of 1988’s Daydream Nation. The songs rule over the dissonance: ‘Antenna’ and ‘What We Know’ are both breathtaking grinds while ‘Anti-orgasm’ is a reliably vociferous Kim Gordon politi-crunch à la ‘100%’, and the winsome ‘Walkin Blue’ shows a tender side that builds to a typical quiet storm.

‘We’re in for the long ride, we can let the rest slip aside,’ Lee Ronaldo croons. Long may it continue.

(Matador)