With one leg planted firmly in freeform experimental noise and the other knee-deep in post-punk avant-garde, Sonic Youth subverted traditional rock & roll forms to create a sometimes lovely, sometimes dissonant, and usually chaotic alternative. When listening to their early records, it's hard to imagine that the Youth could chart any kind of commercial success, yet somehow they did, while never swerving from their singular vision.
The core members -- Thurston Moore, (guitars, vocals) Lee Ranaldo (guitars, vocals, organ), and Kim Gordon (bass, guitar, vocals) -- have been with the band almost since the start, and after a number of false starts on the drums front, Steve Shelley joined too.
Signed by Branca, Sonic Youth first released an eponymous EP which gained good reviews among the music press. The tour which followed generated a European fanbase but the band was largely ignored in their homeland. The release of Bad Moon Rising (1985) was equally well received in Europe and equally ignored in the US. By 1986 they were signed to SST Records and were working on EVOL, a rather more melodic outing than previous efforts. 1987's Sister continued in the same vein and the band found themselves becoming increasingly well known and well received. A further change of record label (to Enigma) occurred before the release of Daydream Nation (1988). This record achieved the most critical acclaim to date and the album made its way onto many 'best album' lists. In 1991, by the time of their tour with the then unknown Nirvana, Sonic Youth had moved to Geffen Records and had released Goo (1990) and "Kool Thing" - the single most associated with the band.
1992's Dirty was followed in 1994 by Experimental Jet Set Trash and No Star, the latter being one of their most adventurous records so far. This was a theme they continued with the next two albums, A Thousand Leaves (1998) and Washing Machine (1995), which featured long noise-breaks which, in the case of the title track of the latter, would result in a 10 minute song. SYR4 (1999) reinterpreted the work of several composers including Yoko Ono and John Cage.
The release of 2002's Murray Street was considered a return to more typical Sonic Youth territory and 2004's Sonic Nurse continued this trend. Rather Ripped, released in 2006, was one of their most commercial and melodic and became Rolling Stone's No.3 album of that year.
