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Quietus Charts

The Quietus Reductive & Subjective Albums Of The Year 20 - 1
The Quietus , December 8th, 2009 09:47

We continue the countdown of our favourite records of 2009

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9. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
"As John mentioned at earlier, bands going "hey hey" "woaha woah" and "uh uh uh uh" can often suggest a paucity of lyrical ideas. In fact, it's been something of a constant in British landfill indie of the past couple of years, as the dilettantish purveyor of post punk skiffle are clearly incapable of writing lyrics. On the other hand, interestingly, part of the reason that the dynamics of The Eternal works so well is because Sonic Youth use the utterances as a sort of dynamic gear shift. Plus, Sonic Youth can write lyrics, here seeming to be a return to their fascination with cultish killers - 'Heaven's Gate' gets a look in. The line "rapacious gardens of female distinction" rules, but not as much as the squealing crescendo, and pugnacious "UGH" that's the full-stop." Luke Turner

Read the full Quietus track-by-track review here