FALL ALBUM ROUNDUP

SONIC YOUTH

“Washing Machine”

Geffen / DGC

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It hard to tell whether alternative rock pioneer Sonic Youth is gradually becoming more accessible or whether the musical climate around the group is finally catching up. On its inception in the early ‘80s, the New York band’s anti-melody and grating feedback approach proved nearly unlistenable. Now Sonic Youth is scoring MTV hits and rocking Lollapaloozans. It’s the pop music equivalent of Andy Warhol prints hitting the mall.

On the quartet’s 12th album, singer-bassist Kim Gordon may step more to the fore, and songs may shimmer more than bristle. But basically this is one more reliable yet predictable Sonic Youth album.

Gordon’s eerie whispers give way to her notoriously tuneless primal grunts and shrieks, which often pack more meaning than the most intricate lyrics by other bands. The deadpans of her guitarist-husband Thurston Moore conjure up more tangible images: Red patent leather, Twister and Dustbusters are just a few of the things on the mind of this complicated artiste.

Minimal melodies team with a disturbed edge while serene, delicate interludes lull the tunes into a sweet place. But just so you don’t get too comfortable, the album deconstructs in a 19-minute finale of noise.

“Washing Machine” finds Sonic Youth taking no radical new steps but instead holding onto its original groundbreaking formula and watching the big pop world come to it.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).