I remember the first time I heard a Sonic Youth song just as if it was yesterday. I think I was around 14 years old. They instantly became one of my favorite bands. To this day, they still are on my top 5. I also remember that no one else shared my love for SY, but I could understand why. They were never an easy listening band; some albums are extremely deep. There is no other sound like Sonic Youth, and whether you like them or not, you got to give them credit for that.
I was truly delighted when I read about Kim Gordon’s new music project. She teamed with Tomorrows Tulips’ Alex Knost to form a duo called Glitterbust. This is her second musical project since Sonic Youth broke up (Does Body/Head ring a bell?).
It’s going to be hard for all of us not to compare Glitterbust to Sonic Youth. I really don’t want to. Kim Gordon is in a different place now, her music has to be too. But if I want to be completely honest, the first time that I heard their single, “The Highline” the feeling was familiar. The guitar noise, the feedback. It’s raw material. It’s the kind of music I would put on a rainy evening. It is dark, heavy and eerie.
I’ll speak for myself, but I know that I have to be in a specific mood when I put on some Sonic Youth. I feel this is going to be the case with Glitterbust, too. I’ll have to put Kim’s previous work in the back of my mind and really try to pretend I don’t know who she is.
But that is quite a hard thing to do, isn’t it?
To hear the single, click on the headphones icon on the image above.
You can pre-order the album via iTunes. If you are feeling a bit nostalgic, you can also order a cassette tape via Burger Records.