Sonic Youth’s first SYR release, issued on the band’s own label in 1997, turns the guitar trio’s more abstract side into four compact pieces. “Anagrama” begins with a thick drone, then lets Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon circle one another with careful guitar scrapes and small bursts of melody, while Steve Shelley keeps time with restrained, almost sideways drumming. It has the feeling of a rock band refusing to behave like one.
The shorter “Improvisation Ajoutée” is all whirring oscillation, hiss and clanking guitar, while “Tremens” moves slowly through sparse, gelatinous notes with plenty of air between them. “Mieux De Corrosion” is the noisy finish, pushing flanged guitar, amp fuzz and clipped metallic figures into a sudden crash of distortion. Recorded by Wharton Tiers and mastered by Greg Calbi, it came out on CD and 12-inch vinyl through SYR’s Perspective Musicales series. Fans of the Spinhead Sessions, In/Out/In, or Sonic Youth’s rougher experimental edges will know what to do with it. Everyone else should expect an abrasive, patient listen rather than another “Teen Age Riot.”
