Originally Posted by coffeeshop

79. Thurston Moore- Trees Outside the Academy- 2007

Ok I didn't expect this but it was a very nice surprise. Thurston Moore uses his calm, mellow vocals which are more evident on the last couple of Sonic Youth records but it is accompanied with his acoustic guitar, a violinist and Steve Shelly on drums.

It is quite extraordinary how much Thurston can diversify, throughout the history of Sonic Youth he has been at the helm of a band constantly changing and releasing new material, but this is only his second proper solo album following Psychic Hearts in 1995.

Sonic Youth fans will be pleasantly surprised by this effort, whilst it is nothing revolutionary, it shows another side to Thurston's musical ability in being able to combine folk and acoustic genres into something distinctly recognisable as his work. It is suprisingly accessible as well so might even suit mainstream tastes bar maybe when noise creeps back into the pallet for example on the instrumental piano and noise piece of 'American Coffin' and the half a minute blast of 'Free Noise Among Friends'. The album closes with a recorded message from Thurston at 13 years old who even at that tender age seems already set for experimentation and it is quite an intriguing listen of his crazy teenage boredom.

Key Songs: Frozen Gtr, The Shape is in a Trance, Wonderful Witches + Language Meanies