Sonic Youth

Thu., July 2, 8:30 p.m., $25-$27, with The Entrance Band and Kurt Vile & the Violators, Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St., 215-336-2000, electricfactory.info.

by Michael Pelusi

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Published: Jun 30, 2009

rock/pop

There was probably a time when it seemed that Sonic Youth might deconstruct rock music into nothingness. But that was back during the Reagan administration. Picking up where 2006's ultra-tuneful Rather Ripped left off, their new disc The Eternal (Matador) makes the predecessor sound positively mild. By cranking up the freaky guitars and Steve Shelley's joyous drumming, songs like "What We Know" and "Thunderclap (For Bobby Pyn)" are brimming with rock energy. As the band hits one crescendo after another, The Eternal maintains an almost ridiculously high level of excitement. The closing "Massage the History," a near-10-minute contemplation with slide and acoustic guitars and an eerily compelling Kim Gordon vocal, unfolds unpredictably. Twenty-seven years after their first release, Sonic Youth maintains the element of surprise.

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