Sonic Youth - Sister

Having successfully balanced atonal freak-outs with rock song structure on their previous release, EVOL, Sonic Youth went further towards convention with this concise, "all rock" (their words) album. Recorded on old tube equipment instead of then-emerging digital technology, the album's 10 songs have an impressively warm, cozy vibe even as they tear up the pavement underneath. "(I Got a) Catholic Block," "Pacific Coast Highway," and a vicious cover of Crime's "Hot Wire My Heart" are propelled by the newfound power of drummer Steve Shelley, who doesn't let the band's arty self-consciousness inhibit the songs' natural drive. --Rob O'Connor Amazon.com essential recording

Sonics still youthful

3 1/2

Although I certainly prefer my Sonic Youth a little further down the line, this could be considered good quality early work, when the band had begun to master sculpting their signature eruptions of guitar distortions into greater beings then themselves. The playing and recording is appropriately sloppy, though more often then not genuine power still shines through. November 10, 2008

A noise rock classic

Pinning Sister as a second best record really undermines the fact that it is a great record and not just the alternative to the obvious. While this is not an obvious record, like most albums by Sonic Youth, it is still immediately recognizable as a true classic of it's decade, virtually refining noise-rock and displaying Sonic Youth's songwriting ability and truly monumental style. Perhaps the comparison is made because Sister is not quite as ambitious or relentless as Daydream Nation, but in any case it is just about as enjoyable in terms of good songs and the overall result. What Sonic Youth does with undeniable success is rain the easygoing nature of American youth into a single album which does it's damage with great consistency. At some points the album feels like the soundtrack to a quick weekend trip through rural America with your buddies, and to me that is represented by the cover pretty well. Sometimes this album is soft, with the wonderful Schizophrenia and the appropriately titled soft/hard noise of Tuff Gnarl. And sometimes it is great punk with choice numbers such as Catholic Block and Hot Wire My Heart. The album gets more rocking as it goes along and is very abrasive and by all means not a softie, and the only one song goes over the five minute mark, making it feel more listenable to the casual fan and easier to swallow, making this a good place to start. A noise rock landmark that not only deserves respect but demands it. November 10, 2008

I wish I could appreciate this more...

Although I have had a stereotyped view of "alternative" music for many years, Sonic Youth have undoubtedly been (close to) the most acclaimed band of the past 25 years, with David Keenan viewing this album as the best of the 1980s. "janitor-x"'s viewpoint of Isn't Anything and Loveless and pale imitations of Sonic youth eventually made me want to check them out even though - from my brother's record collection - I had found them unlistenable more than once in the past because of the seemingly tuneless guitar noise.

EVOL, however, contained a number of very impressive songs that were, as "janitor-x" said, very soft, and I expected more in that direction when I purchased "Sister". Apart from "Schizophrenia" ad "Pipeline/Kill Time", however, there is little of what I had hoped for. Rather, the songs here are like so much awful punk/pop that came to dominate the radio around a decade after I was born, only with much more guitar feedback. Even "Tuff Gnarl", which for a time almost reminded me of one of the 1990s best songs, "Storm", actually turns out to be guitar feedback with much less emotion than I had hoped for. "White Cross", in particular, seems to be a song that paved the way for an incredible amount of terrible pop-punk during the 1990s and beyond. It has none of the qualities I found on listening form my brother's record collection. "Catholic Block" and "Beauty Lies In The Eye" do not lack melody but the vocals really ruin them because there is so little energy or drama in them - which simply does not fit the music. Maybe I was in the wrong mood to appreciate this record when I bought it - I somehow enjoyed EVOL much more.

Whilst I have definite respect for Sonic Youth - as so many reputable writers have shown they did a great deal to pave the way for some great music in the 1990s that revived the passion in rock - "Sister", at least as I judged it, is simply an impossible record for me to listen to. The guitar feedback really, as I see it, is almost analogous to the extremely glossy production of so many more mainstream bands of the 1980s that I once liked but now hate. Both can actually achieve a great deal used wisely, but more often than not, they disguise a lack of emotion in the playing. November 30, 2007

The Best SY Album

The guy from "Sad Young Man On a Train," an incredible band, worked at Olsson's Records in Alexandria (VA) when this came out, and recommended it to me wholeheartedly. Probably the best recommendation I ever had, an absolutely incredible, unique album (and I got the huge "human size +" Sister poster too!).

I went back to Olsson's a year later and asked the guy about "Daydream Nation," and he said, shaking his head, "They've sold out."!! I don't agree with that, but to me Daydream Nation is a little more "mainstream," and the following LPs "Goo," "Dirty" and etc. are worth listening to, but I don't feel the need to hold on to them. "Sister" to me was Sonic Youth's peak. August 8, 2007

This is the SY record to discover

WHen someone tells me they never saw the big deal with Sonic Youth I always throw on Sister. Yeah, I know Daydream is great but I always thought this was their masterpiece. It put both their musicianship and recording prowess together in one disk.

Sister was recorded on old tube boards and you can really tell by the soft tones and warm fuzz. Feels like a wish coming true. July 5, 2007

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