January 30, 2012
#3: Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts This year, Thurston Moore and his Sonic Youth bandmate, Kim Gordon, ended their romantic relationship, after something like three decades together. I admit that my first thought, like that of many Sonic Youth fans, was “What does this mean for the band?” Of course, I care about what happens to Kim, Thurston, and their daughter Coco too, and if what makes things OK for the three of them as people is for Sonic Youth to cease to exist, I’m fine with that happening. But, especially considering the ridiculous fact that I still have never seen Sonic Youth perform live, such a thought does not exactly fill me with joy. One of the things that makes me feel a little better about it, though, is the fact that I’ve been so taken in by this solo effort from Thurston Moore. Demolished Thoughts features Thurston forsaking the usual electric foundations of Sonic Youth to lead a small acoustic combo, with results that are immediately striking, and quite pleasant. Though the comparison isn’t entirely apt, I can’t help but think of Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter when I listen to Demolished Thoughts. The second of the three albums Drake released during his lifetime, Bryter Layter featured, in addition to Drake’s quiet, finger-picked acoustic guitar and warm, soothing voice, the work of quite a few classical and jazz musicians, who proceeded to add a lush, inviting atmosphere to Drake’s spare solo arrangements. Despite the fact that the songs on Demolished Thoughts were clearly written with the intent of including the orchestration they now feature, Moore’s album nonetheless creates a mood very similar to that of Drake’s. And yet, it retains Moore’s off-kilter sensibility, which comes through in surprising and distinctive ways. For example, Demolished Thoughts is not the only solo record Thurston released this year; a few months before Demolished Thoughts came out, a small vinyl-only label called Vin Du Select Qualitite released an LP by Thurston called 12 String Meditations For Jack Rose. Thurston’s untreated instrumental guitar solos on that album, a memorial tribute for a well-respected experimental guitarist who passed away a couple of years ago at the frighteningly young age of 38, are odd and distinctive, reminiscent of Rose’s work as well as that of John Fahey. Demolished Thoughts, with its string-section backing and tastefully embroidered production, should be the polar opposite of what Thurston was doing on his tribute to Jack Rose. And yet, some of the odd, tension-filled moments that materialize on that record greatly resemble some of the most unsettling, and most interesting, moments on Demolished Thoughts. Generally, those darker, stranger moments are buried beneath the much more pleasant layers of instrumental polish on display throughout this album—which, as a result of that polish, has a warm, inviting feel, rather than the sometimes prickly exterior of the Jack Rose tribute. However, at times, most obviously on the song “Circulation,” the Nick Drake-ish atmosphere falls away, in favor of something that sounds almost like acoustic Sonic Youth crossed with the John Cale-era Velvet Underground’s darkest, wildest moments. These sounds seem like they shouldn’t work in an acoustic setting; without the feedback, most of Sonic Youth’s material would be rendered pointless, or at least extremely awkward. And yet, if anything, these darker, more unsettling moments only draw the listener in further. An exercise in nothing but warm, inviting polished pop might seem a bit unnatural coming from a well-known experimentalist like Moore—the fact that he continues to insert his unique sensibility into such a melodic work keeps the entire thing sincere. It also helps the more conventional moments on Demolished Thoughts stand out and ring true, whereas if they were all that the album had to offer, they might start to seem hollow and insincere after a while. What Demolished Thoughts really gets across is that Thurston Moore has a lot to offer besides what he puts out there in Sonic Youth. He is capable of doing solo work that integrates all sides of his artistic approach, and does so in a fundamentally appealing manner. I’ve enjoyed the last several Sonic Youth albums just as much as I liked their more universally acclaimed material from two decades ago. However, if events in Thurston and Kim’s personal life have rendered their continued collaboration in Sonic Youth an impossibility, I will console myself with the prospect of further Thurston Moore solo albums, which is not at all a disappointing proposition.

#3: Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

This year, Thurston Moore and his Sonic Youth bandmate, Kim Gordon, ended their romantic relationship, after something like three decades together. I admit that my first thought, like that of many Sonic Youth fans, was “What does this mean for the band?” Of course, I care about what happens to Kim, Thurston, and their daughter Coco too, and if what makes things OK for the three of them as people is for Sonic Youth to cease to exist, I’m fine with that happening. But, especially considering the ridiculous fact that I still have never seen Sonic Youth perform live, such a thought does not exactly fill me with joy.

One of the things that makes me feel a little better about it, though, is the fact that I’ve been so taken in by this solo effort from Thurston Moore. Demolished Thoughts features Thurston forsaking the usual electric foundations of Sonic Youth to lead a small acoustic combo, with results that are immediately striking, and quite pleasant. Though the comparison isn’t entirely apt, I can’t help but think of Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter when I listen to Demolished Thoughts. The second of the three albums Drake released during his lifetime, Bryter Layter featured, in addition to Drake’s quiet, finger-picked acoustic guitar and warm, soothing voice, the work of quite a few classical and jazz musicians, who proceeded to add a lush, inviting atmosphere to Drake’s spare solo arrangements. Despite the fact that the songs on Demolished Thoughts were clearly written with the intent of including the orchestration they now feature, Moore’s album nonetheless creates a mood very similar to that of Drake’s.

And yet, it retains Moore’s off-kilter sensibility, which comes through in surprising and distinctive ways. For example, Demolished Thoughts is not the only solo record Thurston released this year; a few months before Demolished Thoughts came out, a small vinyl-only label called Vin Du Select Qualitite released an LP by Thurston called 12 String Meditations For Jack Rose. Thurston’s untreated instrumental guitar solos on that album, a memorial tribute for a well-respected experimental guitarist who passed away a couple of years ago at the frighteningly young age of 38, are odd and distinctive, reminiscent of Rose’s work as well as that of John Fahey.

Demolished Thoughts, with its string-section backing and tastefully embroidered production, should be the polar opposite of what Thurston was doing on his tribute to Jack Rose. And yet, some of the odd, tension-filled moments that materialize on that record greatly resemble some of the most unsettling, and most interesting, moments on Demolished Thoughts. Generally, those darker, stranger moments are buried beneath the much more pleasant layers of instrumental polish on display throughout this album—which, as a result of that polish, has a warm, inviting feel, rather than the sometimes prickly exterior of the Jack Rose tribute.

However, at times, most obviously on the song “Circulation,” the Nick Drake-ish atmosphere falls away, in favor of something that sounds almost like acoustic Sonic Youth crossed with the John Cale-era Velvet Underground’s darkest, wildest moments. These sounds seem like they shouldn’t work in an acoustic setting; without the feedback, most of Sonic Youth’s material would be rendered pointless, or at least extremely awkward. And yet, if anything, these darker, more unsettling moments only draw the listener in further. An exercise in nothing but warm, inviting polished pop might seem a bit unnatural coming from a well-known experimentalist like Moore—the fact that he continues to insert his unique sensibility into such a melodic work keeps the entire thing sincere. It also helps the more conventional moments on Demolished Thoughts stand out and ring true, whereas if they were all that the album had to offer, they might start to seem hollow and insincere after a while.

What Demolished Thoughts really gets across is that Thurston Moore has a lot to offer besides what he puts out there in Sonic Youth. He is capable of doing solo work that integrates all sides of his artistic approach, and does so in a fundamentally appealing manner. I’ve enjoyed the last several Sonic Youth albums just as much as I liked their more universally acclaimed material from two decades ago. However, if events in Thurston and Kim’s personal life have rendered their continued collaboration in Sonic Youth an impossibility, I will console myself with the prospect of further Thurston Moore solo albums, which is not at all a disappointing proposition.

7:26pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/Z-FUayFehJ0K
(Notes: 5)
  
Filed under: Top 20 of 2011 
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