In/Out/In

Released

There was something ‘unfazed’ about Sonic Youth in the 2000s – having spent the eighties carving out their own space in the world, and the nineties consolidating their aesthetic and broader cultural relevance, the third decade saw the group sure of themselves, willing to take risks (like inviting Jim O’Rourke and then Mark Ibold on board). In/Out/In houses instrumental explorations recorded in 2000, 2008 and 2010; they’re all convincing, and several of them rank amongst the group’s best improvisatory moments – “Basement Contender” is a flickering gem, the guitars chiming like the notes loosed by Tom Verlaine, caught in shafts of light; “Social Static” is a coral reef of noise, while the closing “Out & In” takes a few minutes to ignite, but when it does, it careens with abandon.

Jon Dale