Product Description

WASHING MACHINE returns Sonic Youth to the ringing electricguitars, clever songwriting and multi-layered arrangements that are the band's calling card. Not the casual acoustic sigh of its predecessor, EXPERIMENTAL JET SET, TRASH AND NO STAR, WASHING MACHINE's electricity gives Sonic Youth new life.
With its sprawling guitar noise, "The Diamond Sea" recalls the GOO-era "Mote", proving that the crunching metallic waves that once made Sonic Youth so impressive are back. "Junkie's Promise" trembles with distortion and shimmering melodic phrases, while "Saucer-Like" brings the band's clamoringtwo-guitar dynamic back into focus. This is the band's triumph--their sound is easier to digest, and invites the listeners to re-examine their strengths.
WASHING MACHINE is also a return to form in terms of songwriting. "Panty Lies" continues Kim Gordon's hipster manifesto series, giving us another glimpse of the world from her perspective--"oh how rude", she sneers, "at least I got your attention, square". "SkipTracer" hints at Sonic Youth's position as baby-sitters forthe next generation of alternative rockers, but isn't condescending. In fact, it's one of the best moments on the album. A description of a singer "shouting the poetic truths of high school journal takers" exemplifies the age gap between Sonic Youth and the new generation, but it doesn't alienate them. It's just such awareness that makes WASHING MACHINE work. Sonic Youth's respect for the scene they helped create will forever keep them on top of the indie heap.

Track Listing

1. Becuz
2. Junkie's Promise
3. Saucer-Like
4. Washing Machine
5. Unwind
6. Little Trouble Girl
7. No Queen Blues
8. Panty Lies
9. Becuz Coda
10. Skip Tracer
11. The Diamond Sea

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20330 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition
• Running time: 68 minutes

Customer Reviews

5 stars???????? Are you guys crazy?????
Alright now, I stumbled upon this item and was AMAZED that it got just 5 star reviews. I've been a long time SY fan (but not a huge one), I own over 10 of their albums and I have to say, this one is my least favorite. It's dumb, it's stupid. What were they thinking? What are you guys (rating it with 5 stars) thinking? What am I missing here?????

For me, the only good moment of the record is "The diamond Sea", only that it's totally tortured by its length (15 minutes, 20???? how long is this song anyway??????)

2 Stars are more than enough.

Brilliant
My favorite Sonic Youth album.

It has everything you could wish for- barbaric yet funky riffs, Kim in ever more messed-up character, an orgasmic drone-rock sunrise in the middle of the title track, a grotesque gavotte (Panty Lies), an astonishingly touching lyrical number that looks ahead to Murray Street (Unwind), and a huge grunge-mess ending.

I am still coming to terms with how wonderful this album is.

A masterpiece
I'm surprised there aren't more reviews posted here for this brilliant album. Everyone and his mother knows that 1988's seminal Daydream Nation is a solid-gold alternative rock classic, but it isn't the only great Sonic Youth album and it's not even my personal favourite. I reckon that 1995's Washing Machine is one of their strongest, most fully realised works to date.

There are a few relatively poppy and straightforward moments on the record - the striking Kim Gordon-sung opener Becuz, the lovely and melodic Unwind, the sweet 60s girl-pop pastiche of Little Trouble Girl. But unlike the more compact and concise punk/grunge songs of the Goo and Dirty era, Washing Machine is largely an album of sprawling, trancelike, free-form guitar epics. Therefore it's probably closer in spirit to Daydream Nation, with a hint of Teutonic art rock like Neu! and Can thrown into the mix. It takes some getting used to, sure, but gradually the pastoral textures and droning feedback achieve a startling, powerful beauty. This is never more evident than on the nine-minute title track and the symphonic, 19-minute closer The Diamond Sea, which is surely one of the most exquisite pieces of rock music in recent decades.

Washing Machine is a rich, intense listening experience. Once you get into the hang of it, it becomes one of Sonic Youth's most addictive records. So strap on your headphones and drift away.