Chewing Pine

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Geffen, 2007)

(This originally appeared in the Cleveland Free Times)

The space that Daydream Nation holds in the language of American rock is unmovable. Suppressed is the chiming of “She Is Not Alone” from their first release and SY hasn’t quite reached the structure of Washing Machine, but both the past and future lives of Sonic Youth are represented here. This re-release includes the original studio album as well as live recordings of the band touring the then new songs. Beginning the album with “Teenage Riot”, SY immediately points towards the path the recording and in-fact their career would take. Between the noise generated as well as the sentiment of the song, it was ensured of representing a change in SY. With all the music that ensued during the ‘90s, perhaps the shift in popular music can be traced here. It was to be the last independent label full length for the band. “Teenage Riot”, though, sounds meaner than anything of its’ ilk, which probably explains why it was not for a few more years that comparable music appeared in malls and the like.

In their recordings as in their interviews, SY always made their debts to other bands apparent. “Sprawl”, during the tense build-up at the beginning, recalls the Velvet Underground at their peak, while the studio version of the track sounds eerily similar to the last gasps of Loaded. In these two tracks SY traversed all of the Velvet’s and then found time enough to interpret garage sounds on the live “Candle”. The astonishing aspect of this again is the group’s ability to recall garage live and in the studio, conjure up something akin to Rhys Chatham with a decidedly ‘80s feel to it. “Eliminator Jr.”, while aggressive in both versions, finds Kim Gordon sounding a bit mannish amidst the group’s live rendition. But that’s why the live artifact exists. Paired with the studio version, the extras seem to embody the passion and dedication that SY invested into it’s music. You get a taste of both the unrestricted SY as well as the group who would come to value their ability to work with the studio as opposed to only capturing a live sound.