Thurston Moore interview

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BBC - collective - thurston moore interview

Plus, you can listen to 4 songs from his 2nd solo album.

[Guest Steven Dedalus]

His new album is amazing.

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His new album is amazing.

It is a purchase that I think will make this week.

[Guest Steven Dedalus]

I got given a promo copy of it to review for a magazine, and was just blown away by how good it is. It wasn't what I was expecting at all (which was a sort of 'Sonic Youth'y' sounding record) but instead found myself liseting to an album full of great melodies, great lyrics (mostly) and acoustic and electric guitars that all sounded great, prompting me to write a very flamboyant review.

So all's well that ends well.

[Alan Cynic]

I like the sound of that! I know he's been recording old(er) UK folk/blues people like Michael Chapman, and that he's always had a love of that area of music, so it's nice to see some of it surfacing on record.

[Guest Steven Dedalus]

just as a special treat, here's my unedited review of the album! I love you all:

THURSTON TREES OUTSIDE THE ACADEMY

(ECSTATIC PEACE)

REVIEWED BY STEVEN RAINEY

Thurston Moores 1995 outing, Psychic Hearts, sounded like the guy from Sonic Youth cutting loose, and making some tunes. I guess the best description of it is Sonic Youth without Kim Gordon. So, if you were into that kind of thing, it was the kind of thing you might be into.

Trees Outside the Academy is a very different story. Thurston seems cut free from any ties to the past, and has unleashed a record that is full of surprises coming from the Grand Master of Noise-Rock, but completely accessible from any other standpoint. First of all, the acoustic guitar takes prominence on the album, and the noisy, de-tuned electric guitars are sitting around the studio, not quite gathering dust, but not on fire either. And, as you might be able to imagine, an acoustic guitar in Thurstons hands sounds significantly different tosayany number of sub-standard acoustic troubadours. Occasionally jagged, always tightly coiled, it is a thing of beauty and danger, perfectly complimented by Sumara Lubelskis violin, which snakes round the notes, drawing tighter and tighter.

Steve Shelly, is Steve Shelly, and does what Steve Shelly does on records. Even J. Mascis turns up and plays some solos which you can play to your friends if they ever ask you, What does J. Mascis do?

So, as refreshing as it is to hear Thurston Moore delivering an album full of accessible, engaging songs, his lyrics are more problematic. Very esoteric in nature, its frequently very difficult to decipher what hes actually talking about, until he just casually tosses out a killer line like:

And O Yeh Ill Always Be Yr Friend,

And Yeh At Least Just Till The End

(spelling and sentence construction, copyright Thurston Moore)

And everything seems good, and the guitar lines are licking at your ears, the violin is wrapped round your chest and the drums are pushing you on towards the light. May Thurston never die and just continue compelling us to Sonic Ecstasy.

For Fans of: Beck, Dinosaur Jr

Download: Frozen gtr, Fri/end

4 out of five

(even verging on 4 and a half, but Ill not be greedy)