Evol - Sonic Youth (Cassette) (AE)

This is a cassette tape pressing of Sonic Youth's Evol. Released in May 1986, this third studio album by Sonic Youth marked the first signs of the band's transformation from their No Wave past into a greater alt-rock sensibility. Pitchfork noted that "EVOL... mark[s] the true departure point of Sonic Youth's musical evolution," as Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo "bring form to the formless, tune to the tuneless, and with the help of Steve Shelley's drums... [impose] melody and composition on their trademark dissonance." Stereogum praised the album as a "cornerstone [of] the Sonic Youth sound," describing it as "ground zero for the combination of chiming guitars and atonal skronk" and a "muggy delirium," highlighting tracks like the virile 'Tom Violence' and the off-kilter 'Starpower' sung by Kim Gordon. 'In The Kingdom #19', featuring Mike Watt on bass and Lee Ranaldo on vocals, is described as a "harrowing story of a highway wreck over a suitably edgy instrumental backing punctuated by... live firecrackers in the vocal booth." Popstache noted that "EVOL slithers into the unconscious," leaving a "faded footprint" that reels the listener back for another strange trip. The album has been lauded as having "the seeds of greatness" by Pitchfork (who placed it #31 of the Top 100 Albums of The 1980s), a "near-masterpiece" by Trouser Press, and "a stunningly fluent mixture of avant-garde instrumentation and subversions of rock'n'roll" by All Music Guide.

Label: Goofin Records

Release Year: 2022

Track List:

1. Tom Violence
2. Shadow of a Doubt
3. Starpower
4. In the Kingdom #19
5. Green Light
6. Death to Our Friends
7. Secret Girl
8. Marilyn Moore
9. Expressway to Yr. Skull
10. Bubblegum