Listen to Upcoming Sonic Youth Album (In Pieces)

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


The legendary New York combo Sonic Youth is planning to release what appears to be their 16th studio album The Eternal on June 9—is Confusion as a Sex a full-length? Anyway, June seems like a million years away, but thankfully we’ve been given a little jolt of Sonic goodness to tide us over. The band has released a two-and-a-half-minute audio clip containing excerpts of tracks from the album, which, as you would expect, is both great and annoying. There are plentiful moments of shiver-inducing guitar work and eyebrow-raising lyrics (did Kim just say “anti-war is anti-orgasm”?) but I want it all, and I want it now! Actually, as Newsweek (from whence this stream comes) pointed out, the little medley is itself rather artfully composed, with the various clips rolling into each other, if not exactly smoothly, then at least interestingly. So that’s something.

Your absurdly-named DJ was a mega-fan of der Yoof’s last platter, 2006’s scrappy, hooky Rather Ripped, an album that was both a return to form and a bold, accessible step forward. From the wee clippies in this little montage, The Eternal sounds a little edgier, with about equal time given to hectic rock-outs as strummy jams, but I can already tell it’s going to be another good one. We’re coming up on 30 years of fine material from this band, and still no Hall of Fame?! Goes to show.

Like I said, The Eternal is out June 9 on Matador, and if you buy early (starting April 28) you get extra goodies and a full preview stream, I guess is what Matador wants me to tell you.

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate