“Lights Out” reeks of whispery, late-night cool, and the closing track, “Or,” is one of the sparest and most oddly unsettling songs Sonic Youth has done in a while (not to mention a reminder that quiet doesn’t always mean peaceful in this band’s world). “Rats” is a standard-issue Lee Ranaldo song, freewheeling and poetic (and with lines like “Let me place you in my past/With other precious toys,” it has the sharpest lyrics on Rather Ripped), even if it’s not quite as amazing as the previous album’s “New Hampshire.” Rather Ripped’s rock songs are solid, but not amazing - the interplay of Moore’s and Ranaldo’s guitars and Steve Shelley’s drumming are the best things about “Sleepin’ Around” and “What a Waste.” Actually, the more atmospheric songs end up being some of the most compelling. Thurston Moore contributes a gently but powerfully political track à la Sonic Nurse’s “Peace Attack” with “Do You Believe in Rapture?,” a reflection on peace and apocalypse that’s mostly serene, even if the guitar harmonics throughout the song add shivers of doubt and tension. Once again, Kim Gordon contributes some of the best tracks here “Reena” and “Jams Run Free” are equal parts dreamy and driving, while “The Neutral” is a sweet, low-key love song. Rather Ripped ends up being of a piece with their previous two albums, and often plays like a stripped-down, slightly less-inspired Sonic Nurse. The 2006 release marked the end of Sonic Youth’s nine-album run on Geffen Records as well as the departure of guitarist and producer Jim O’Rourke, who joined the group in 1999.Ĭonsidering that Sonic Youth lost Jim O’Rourke and found the custom-tweaked, irreplaceable guitars that were stolen in 1999 before heading into the studio to make Rather Ripped, it seemed that the album could be a big departure from what they’d been doing on Murray Street and Sonic Nurse - possibly a return to the kind of music they could only make with those instruments, or perhaps an entirely different approach that reflected their revamped, old-is-new-again lineup. Rather Ripped contains some of Sonic Youth’s most poppy and accessible songs, co-produced by John Agnello working with the band for the first time. Recorded: December 2005 – January 2006, Sear Sound in New York City Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Front Cover | © DGC/Geffen Records FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 51:49 minutes | 2,05 GB | Genre: Rock
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