NR Essentials #10: Sonic Youth - EVOL
 

 

Sonic Youth
EVOL
1986, SST Records

Though I wanted this to be NR Essentials #1, I promised I'd wait until I hit double digits. And yes I know I'm preaching to the choir, but this ongoing list is meant to be the records essential to me. The records that have shaped my ears. To leave SY off the list, even if it is obvious, would be a mockery of my musical vocabulary. If anything, this is the most essential record in my collection. There is no other album that has so heavily shaped sound-mind.

Every part of the aesthetics here are important. Starting with the packaging and going right through the sound of the drums (that many ppl hate, but I love), and the guitars that don't even sound like guitars. There is not a song here that I don't love (although admittedly, when I say that, I'm talking about the original album sequencing which did not fuck itself up by tacking on a cover of "Bubblegum" after the afterglow ending of "Expressway").

//sidenote// I've said this before here, but this album sounds to me like the soundtrack to the best 80's slasher that never got transferred to DVD.//

I could go on and on and on. But again, you probably don't need me to on this one. So I'll just say, if yr a recent SY convert and you dn't have this one Please Go Get It Now. [then after you fall in love with it, hunt down it's sonic sister, MADE IN USA]

...please just leave me (my EVOL.)

looks cool. Are they a bit like MGMT?

MGMT kick these guys asses.

But yeah, of course it's essential. It's one of the greatest records of all time.

Thee Greatest.

to me, it's a toss up between evol, daydream nation and minor threat's complete discography. i keep going back and forth between the three.

While I like the Complete Discography and note it's massive influence, I could never hold as one of the greatest albums ever. Still a good listen though!

Don't get me wrong, this is a very good record indeed, and it contains my ALL TIME favourite track, let alone favourite SY track (Shadow of A Doubt). However, that said EVOL wouldn't ever make it into my top 5 Sonic Youth albums, and nowhere near my own 'greatest albums ever' list. It's just too varied, it has some moments of utter genius, Shadow of A Doubt, Expressway, In The Kingdom, Marilyn Moore, but also, in my opinion some of SY's weakest tracks; Starpower (just can't stand that one!) and Green Light. If I had to describe EVOL as anything it'd be slow-moving, it just doesn't have the energy records like Sister have. Along with Washing Machine, it remains one of those supposedly seminal SY albums I don't wholly 'get'.

^^You're a wet blanket, man.^^

Oh do shut up, I just have a differing opinion to you.

Hey, keep cool, man, you know I'm not that serious.
But I wonder why you don't like Green light. Why ?

Well I don't hate it, but it sounds pretty tuneless if you ask me, Thurston's singing is awful, it sounds pretty flat and dull, and doesn't really go anywhere or do anything.

And what do think about Tom Violence ? And Death to our friends ?

Tom Violence is my favourite Sonic Youth song. Gus Van Sant's also!

Thisisnothere, our opinions of this record are sooooo opposite, that I don't even know how to respond. So...

Death To Our Friends is neither here nor there for me, though Tom Violence is probably one of the best album openers SY have done.

i came home drunk last night and put EVOL on my headphones. I could not stop wondering what a fucking masterpiece that album is. I've listened to it like 2.500 times already but still keep discovering new things inside it.

My favourite album (using atsonicpark's most frequent word) EVER.

(using atsonicpark's most frequent word) YES!

(using another atsonicpark's most frequent word)
nicfit is the shit!

THIS is the way forward people

Mmkay, but just to reiterate, this is a series of albums I consider Essential to my own collection... how I've formed my own tastes. So it's not really about "THIS is the best SY album" etc.

You get it.

EVOL to me is the perfect title. 'Evil' & 'Love' as a blurred image.

Early SY is amazing, but for me EVOL was the first album in this 'series' which was very good but not absolutely incredible. Also, I think SY between 1998 and 2004 as a 'series' of records was just as strong as 80s SY, if not better.

but again, we're just not going to agree on this.

You're quite right, we're not. Is that actually a problem though?

I tend to agree with This is Not Here, even though there are some days when I think EVOL is my favourite SY album of them all. It's a difficult album to really get a hook on, especially compared with those around it. It definitely lacks the epic atmosphere of BMR or the drive of Sister. It's a fairly messy album I think. Sometimes I love it, other times when I listen to it, it just seems to drift along.

I like it quite a bit, but it's far from my favourite SY album. However, it was probably the album that restored my faith in SY. It was my fourth SY album, the previous two had been Dirty and Goo, which were disappointing after listening Daydream Nation.

Yes! This is my favorite Sonic Youth song ever, too! After much consideration/deliberation/defibulation. Though Cross the Breeze is the shit also. So is nicfit!

There's no question to me that "TV" is my favorite SY song. It's just so stunningly perfect in every way.

And you guys can flame me all you like for saying this, but DAYDREAM NATION doesn't hold a candle to EVOL.

I'm right there.
Bad Moon Rising sucked me in with noise+pop sensibilities mixed together with tape loops, drones, and samples. Evol took my thinking process in a totally different direction. Shadow of a Doubt blew my mind and I'm so glad that I listened to this album on vinyl first so that I could listen to that endless loop for a ridiculously long amount of time.

Seeing them perform "Shadow Of A Doubt" live was incredible.

Ya bastard :)

haha. And for the record, CONFUSION is in my top 5 or so SY records.