1. Sonic Youth Thousand Leaves Pitchfork

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Truth be told, the grunge era never quite fit. They may have been at the peak of their popularity, but they had traded their experimentalism for sheer, bracing noise. It may have sounded good, but ultimately didn't have the cerebral impact of, largely because it was tied to an admittedly effective backbeat. Beginning with, returned to more adventurous territory, and in 1997, they released a series of EPs that illustrated their bond with such post-rock groups as and. Those EPs, as well as the epic closer, 'The Diamond Sea,' provide the foundation for, the band's most challenging and satisfying record in years. The blasts of dissonance that characterized their SST masterworks have been replaced, by and large, by winding, intricate improvisations.

Sonic Youth Thousand Leaves Pitchfork

There's a surprising warmth to the subdued guitars of, and, which keeps the lengthy songs captivating. Both and concentrate on quiet material, which almost makes 's noisy politicized rants sound a little out of place, but her best moments ('French Tickler,' 'Heather Angel') have unsettling, unpredictable twists and turns that greatly contribute to the success of. It may be their most cerebral album in ages, but that only makes it all the more engaging.

I really have a soft spot for this album. It surely isn't the harsh groundbreaking noise of yore, nor the hardcore-tinged tight precision (or near-precision) of the early 90s. Free pat files for revitalift. 'A Thousand Leaves' rather deals in a form of sonic beat poetry (no surprise a song is dedicated to Allen Ginsberg), long soundscapes and freely evolving structures, that might be called 'jazz' if not played on electric guitars.

As lyrics go, roles were by 1998 clearly defined, Kim bringing in the feminism and the politics, Lee the darker streak of experiments, while Thurston lights up the best songs (IMHO) with his words of ever-lasting teenage vitality. This is no noise-pop-by-numbers though, just a well-crafted body of work by a band confident in their individual and mutual qualities. Hope I'll feel this way when I'm forty!