A Thousand Leaves
(My So-Called Records) Used 2xLP $30.00
“The album’s centerpiece, ‘Hits Of Sunshine,’ jams languidly for over eleven minutes, its pulse slower than a heartbeat, its tendrils of psychedelic guitar purposefully evading focus; the song feels like a gesture of purpose, redrawing Sonic Youth’s context, transposing them from the Lollapalooza world of alternateens and skateboard-themed MTV promos to a boho beatnik milieu that’s doubtless more where they belong. The flipside to A Thousand Leaves’ flower-hippy jamming: Kim Gordon’s contributions that push her blunt, unschooled growl to the forefront, and line some of the most combustible noise-bombs here with uncompromising, darkly witty politics. This complex, corrosive album is a transitional set without which Sonic Youth couldn’t have escaped to creative freedoms that followed.” 1998 pressing