E.V.O.L.

Hinting at the cartoon-like flash of GOO, E.V.O.L. anticipated Sonic Youth's evolving pop sensibilities, while keeping one foot in the world of clamoring drones that marked their earlier work. Sonic Youth allowed these mainstream influences to come to light on E.V.O.L., something they had resisted during the band's KILL YR IDOLS art-rock days. more...

On E.V.O.L. ("love" spelled backwards), Sonic Youth honed the sparkle and chaos that permeated their sound. The shimmering "Tom Violence" affirmed, not only in name, their ability to be dangerous, while the haunting "Shadow Of A Doubt" secured Kim Gordon's position as one of rock's most intriguing monologue artists. The loping "In The Kingdom #19" invoked the beat era and Andy Warhol's "Car Crash" series ("smoke and flames, all right!"), giving the song a warped sense of originality and humor.
E.V.O.L. was also the precursor to Sonic Youth's later, more pop-oriented albums, proving that beneath their white noise and art-rock posturing was a deep respect for rock's more mainstream roots. The final cut, "Bubblegum" was the perfect example. Written by Kim Fowley, the ringleader behind The Runaways, "Bubblegum" worked well with Gordon's deadpan vocal style, and proved the notion few at the time suspected: Sonic Youth knew how to rock.

Q (7/01, p.90)
- Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time".

Spin (5/01, p.110)
- Ranked #31 in Spin's "50 Most Essential Punk Records" - "Waist-deep in art noise but wanting to mosh...SY wrestle with song forms and lose, thrillingly..."

Q (7/96, p.144)
- 4 Stars - Excellent - "...a sexy, warped, threatening record which switched between swaggering riffs like `Starpower' and `Green Light' and whispered, melodic ballads like the wonderful `Shadow Of A Doubt'..."

Melody Maker (5/4/96, p.58)
- "...what's cool about Sonic Youth is their detatchment, the feeling that they're consummate art school poseurs contriving sullenness, self-loathing and rage. They don't mean it, maaan....all manicured noise and manufactured nihilism..."