Sonic Youth – Sacred Trickster

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[rating:71/100]
I almost didn’t want to post this one, but after sitting on it for a day or two, I decided that I was becoming quite fond of it. “Sacred Trickster” is the hard-rocking first single off of Sonic Youth’s upcoming (16th!) studio album, The Eternal. They really don’t know how to retire — and no one should teach them to!

Thinking back over their 4 last albums: 2000′s NYC Ghosts & Flowers, 2002′s Murray Street, and 2004′s Sonic Nurse were sadly underwhelming. NYC Ghosts & Flowers was superciliously crushed by Pitchfork in one of their meanest reviews ever, giving it a 0.0: “An unfathomable album which will be heard in the squash courts and open mic nights of deepest hell.” Read the review, most of it is sheer hilarity.

However, all was redeemed when 2006′s Rather Ripped hit our bulky iPods, drawing a respectable. 7.5 from Bitchfork and Album of the Year honors from some of my personal favorite rock critics (Slant, Stylus, A.V. Club, cokemachineglow, and, yes, the NYT). “Sacred Trickster” may not be the art-pop Ripped received universal acclaim for, but may be the earliest sign of a brilliant radio-rock album.

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by Luis Tovar on April 21, 2009 ‡ 0 reactions