Thurston - 'Trees Outside The Academy' (Estastic Peace) Released 17/09/07

With an inventory of intoxicatingly melodic tunes, it looks like ‘Trees Outside The Academy’, Thurston Moore’s first solo album since 1995’s ‘Psychic Hearts’, has lost none of the unorthodox sounds and integrity of Sonic Youth. As the founding member of one of America’s seminal alternative rock groups, Thurston has a lot to live up to. However, with a little help from his old Sonic Youth band mates, namely drummer Steve Shelly and violinist Samara Lubelski, he produces a unique mix of upbeat yet hypnotically psychedelic songs.

Tracks like ‘Off Work’ and ‘In A Trance’ are a beauty to listen to, combining some nakedly raw guitar rifts with Thurston’s relaxed vocals. Their lyrics work reasonably well, being ambiguously vague and adding to the collective freedom of the songs. However, if Thurston wants them to really move people, lines like “Frozen guitar next to your sweet lamp, melting sweetheart into your ivory hand” might be a little more David Brent than Nirvana for some tastes.

For people unused to the down and dirty, DIY ethic that made Sonic Youth the rock/punk underground sensation it was, some of Thurston’s unique sounds, such as the wailing, screeching opening of ‘Frozen Gtr’ might strike a rough chord. Despite this, it’s worth breaking through this controversial shell to find the heady, masterful track inside, and most of the songs wouldn’t feel out of place in the soundtrack to arty, angsty films like Garden State or Donnie Darko. Overall, ‘Trees Outside The Academy’ is a rough diamond of a grunge album, and any Sonic Youth fan will not be disappointed.