Thurston Moore Albums (8)
'Trees Outside the Academy'
Release Date 9/17/2007
Tracks 12
Label Ecstatic Peace
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What The Critics Say
"What am I going to do next for your ears to taste?" a 13-year-old Thurston Moore asks on Trees Outside the Academy's aptly named hidden track, "Thurston @13," on which Moore demonstrates the sound of rubber bands twanging and Lysol being sprayed in the air. Moore's approach has gotten more sophisticated over the years, but that playful curiosity remains in his music with and without Sonic Youth. Trees Outside the Academy is Moore's second song-based solo album; the first was 1996's Psychic Hearts, which distilled Sonic Youth's atonal pop leanings at the time into spare, sketchy rock that crackled with intensity. Trees feels like an extension -- make that a branch -- of the hypnotic calm Moore and company pursued on Rather Ripped and Sonic Nurse. However, Trees Outside the Academy goes even deeper into that meditative territory, focusing on Moore's acoustic guitar textures and songwriting in a nimble way that underscores that this is his album. Backed by violinist Samara Lubelski and the Youth's Steve Shelley on drums, Moore leads the trio through moody, layered songs like "Frozen Guitar," where Lubelski's strings sound completely organic and intrinsic to the song, even as they spar with and bleed into guest guitarist J Mascis' fiery leads (Trees Outside the Academy was recorded at Mascis' Bisquiteen studio with John Agnello, who also worked on Rather Ripped). Moore's ringing guitar lends itself as well to modern-sounding acoustic music as it does to Sonic Youth's plugged-in experimental rock, and Shelley and Lubelski are just as game; one moment, they sound like they're playing on the back porch of a farmhouse, and the next like they're playing in a downtown gallery. "Honest James" is an underground folk-rock singalong, with jubilant guitars and Charalambides' Christina Carter adding gorgeous backing vocals to Moore's laconic drawl, while "Silver Blue" is sleek, droning acoustic rock. As Trees Outside the Academy unfolds, it gets more eclectic: "Fri/End" has a melody so, well, friendly that you can almost see it wagging its tail, and pits some of Moore's most straightforward lyrics with some of his most playful stream-of-consciousness wordplay. "Wonderful Witches + Language Meanies"' silly, loose-limbed rock wouldn't fit on a Sonic Youth album, but it sounds great here, next to "Off Work"'s skronk and "Never Day"'s blissful pop. Though it's only a 37-second interlude, the title of "Free Noise Among Friends" sums it up best: not only did Moore record Trees Outside the Academy with some of his closest friends, but the album's good-natured sprawl is so appealing that it makes its listeners feel like friends, too. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'Three Incredible Ideas'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 3
Label Auditorium
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What The Critics Say
This recording may surprise some admirers of Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, but Moore has been exploring the kind of radical free improvisation found here since at least the 1990s. Recorded in Italy, the three pieces feature the guitarist with two highly compatible veterans of the avant-garde scene: cellist and electronics manipulator Walter Prati and trombonist and electronics guru Giancarlo Schiaffini. The three pieces ("Three Incredible Ideas, Parts 1-3") are spontaneously improvised, but there is such synergy among the musicians that the flow of ideas is seamless. There is a sense of development, too, as concepts sprout from kernels, and grow into larger abstractions. At times there is an ambient quality, but sometimes a hardcore assault on the senses. The results are different than some other radical projects of the same genre, though, in the emphasis on mood and nuance. There are often periods of quiet, followed by aggressive interludes. What distinguishes this from the pack is the clever and varied use of electronics, the superb trombone work (open, muted, and distorted) of Schiaffini, the variety of instrumentation, and the way in which the instrumentalists listen closely to each other. While there are no melodies, the pieces logically incorporate and expand on musical constructs, making this complex and in some ways remarkable recording surprisingly accessible and rewarding. ~ Steven Loewy, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore teamed up with veteran British free improvisation saxophonist Evan Parker and Italian bassist and sound processor Walter Prati for this free-form session. The trio produces exquisite results on a series of improvisations that focus on the combined sonic anomalies of the three instruments. Thurston Moore's guitar style is instantly recognizable regardless of the context, and on this avant-garde outing his myriad tones are to the fore and matched with the hypnotic circular drones of Evan Parker's saxophone. ~ Martin Walters, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In 1996, Thurston Moore was still mostly known for his work with the rock group Sonic Youth. In 1996, the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville was an established institution in the realm of serious experimental, improvisational, and avant-garde music. In 1996, Moore was invited to play the FIMAV. Anyone present at the concert could feel how awkward the setting was: young fans cheering and hooting at first, looking confused a few minutes later, but not as confused as the festival's connoisseurs who came that night with very low expectations. You can actually hear all that on Piece for Jetsun Dolma, released on the festival's label, Disques Victo. Moore (guitar, noise) was flanked by Tom Surgal and William Winant. Surgal played impressive free rock drumming, while Winant made use of a wide array of percussion, from tympany to sheet metal and bells. The three of them played for 67 minutes without interruption, except for a short hiatus (hence the split in two parts on the CD). Moore's approach here was similar, although less extreme, to what Keiji Haino can do with his trio Fushitsusha: walls of noise gradually built and brought down. The American's music is more textural, less cathartic than the Japanese. The interest does not sustain throughout as there are empty passages, but overall this is a strong performance. Fans of Sonic Youth already acquainted with the band's more improvisational releases (on their own label SYR) will particularly appreciate Piece for Jetsun Dolma. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It was inevitable that Thurston Moore's first solo offering would sound a bit like Sonic Youth, considering how integral his guitar playing and singing are to the band's sound. What is surprising about Psychic Hearts is how Moore twists his standard lexicon of detatched vocals, dissonant guitar lines, and deliberately obscure musical/lyrical references into something resembling pop music, which is something Sonic Youth has rarely been able to achieve. Fourteen of the album's 15 tracks are built around concise, angular guitar hooks complemented by Moore's unashamed, nearly melodic vocals. "Elegy for All the Dead Rock Stars" is a 20-minute instrumental, which is measured and evenly paced, surging toward a gentle conclusion. Psychic Hearts displays a softer, more reflective side of a musician known for his passion for disguising his emotions and ideas in noise. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
An obscure 1995 release from the famed Sonic Youth guitarist, this CD sees him paired with free jazz drummer Tom Surgal for a blistering noise set, in keeping with New Zealand noise label Corpus Hermeticum's aesthetic. The listener should not expect the sweet psychedelic pop of his Psychic Hearts album of the same year; rather, Moore explores his interest in freeform improvisation on this live set recorded in 1994. The recording is incredibly lo-fi, but that adds to the CD's candid charm, as his guitar thrashing reaches peaks of noise only hinted at in early Sonic Youth. The duo works along lines that are more akin to the Blue Humans -- with whom drummer Surgal began -- and also seems influenced by such underground acts as Fushitsusha and the Dead C. Moore's guitar is so distinct, however, that many parts here could be mistaken for a live Sonic Youth recording from that band's more heady and chaotic '80s period. ~ Sylvie Harrison, All Music Guide
