The Eternal

iTunes Review

These alt-rock heroes — featuring husband-and-wife Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals) and Kim Gordon (bass, vocals) — have been setting trends, sidestepping expectations, and sticking to their creative guns since the early ‘80s. On 2009's The Eternal an energized “Sacred Trickster” dives right in and the garage-rock rocket leaves blasted guitars in its wake as the group leaps into tongue-in-cheek “Anti-Orgasm.” Just a couple minutes deep and it’s clear: Sonic Youth still has it; that beautiful, noisy, creative energy. “Calming the Snake” draws you in with a bass groove and then droning guitar and primal vocals send it into a muddy, melodic tailspin. Moore’s cool-and-commanding delivery on “Poison Arrow” registers somewhere between Bob Dylan and Frank Black, while Gordon owns the mic on the instantly addictive “Malibu Gas Station.” Since its inception, Sonic Youth has been known to crank out long songs with extended solos and wayward musings, but most of The Eternal’s tight jams clock in at less than four minutes — with the notable exception being hazy, 10-minute closer “Massage the History.”