Sonic Youth — Sonic Nurse

More than 20 years into their game, Sonic Youth aren’t as mind-blowing as they were in the late-’80s, but they’re still putting out above-par records, which counts for something. Sonic Nurse follows 2002’s Murray Street, which was a return to classic SY form after 2000’s experimental, spoken-word-laced NYC Ghosts & Flowers.

Sonic Nurse is weird if only because it’s so normal. All of the trademark SY elements are there, but the songs are breezier and less jarring than much of the band’s signature work. Kim Gordon steps in every once in a while to break up Thurston Moore’s mellow epics with a little bit of yelling (Gordon’s "Mariah Carey And The Arthur Doyle Hand Cream" is one of her most entertaining turns to date), but anyone who found Evol, Sister or even Experimental Jet Set too much to take will happily chill to the Sonic Nurse. It’s still Sonic Youth, just prettier. 

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