Albums by this artist

Mostly, Sonic Youth's career has proceeded in nonlinear fashion. They don't tend to build up to things, they jump right in. Hence the drastic shifts from the holy terror of the early stuff to the quieter (but far more hair-raising) EVOL, from the concise, busy, structured Experimental Jet Set to the spacious Washing Machine. There's one exception. Going straight to Daydream Nation is probably more than any band could hope to do. Therefore, in between twin landmarks we have Sister, Sonic Youth's only true transition album.

That's not to short it any way. Sister tunes like "Schizophrenia" and "Catholic Block" are recognized classics today, but the album is the only one in Sonic Youth's catalog in which you can sense the band looking ahead. Sister is less apocalyptic than most other SY albums, more finite somehow. It's therefore one of their most easily appreciable releases, although it lacks a knockout punch, an "Expressway To Yr Skull" or "Diamond Sea" to force out into the open what is elsewhere only suggested.

Listened to immediately before Daydream, it's a rewarding warmup lap, on its own, it does have its pleasures. "Hotwire My Heart" is one of the band's more amusingly scruffy bad punk oldie covers, and "Tuff Gnarl" is one of the friendliest noise songs you'll ever hear. Only 43 minutes (and that's with the addition of the obnoxious "Master-Dik" on reissue), Sister is the only mid-period SY album you can make it all the way through without feelings of exhaustion. With less bulk, it's easier to appreciate the individual moments, of which there are plenty right fine ones.

It's hard to reasonably compare Sister to Daydream or EVOL. Not every album necessarily has to be an epic. Even though this album doesn't have the heft of those surrounding it, it's by no means a less necessary or less rewarding Sonic Youth album. I think everyone should have them all, damn it. Except A Thousand Leaves.

MARK T.R. DONOHUE | Mark T.R. Donohue is a prolific freelance writer whose areas of expertise include Rockies baseball, video games, genre television, English soccer, and pub rock. He lives in Colorado, where he cultivates the largest and creepiest private collection of Alyson Hannigan memorabilia in the Mountain West.