Graham Reid | | 1 min read
Thurston Moore: Space
The solo projects and collaborations of Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) have certainly covered a lot of musical landscapes from visceral guitar noise to . . .
Well, to this which is mostly gentle, dreamy singer-songwriter work with acoustic guitar, harp, violin and producer Beck on synths, vocals and bass.
To a great extent -- because of the intricacies of the arrangements which frequently exclude guitar in favour of aural texture from orchestral-like synths and that tinkling harp or violin -- you might guess that Beck has brought more than his fair share of ideas to this project. And when Moore's vocals (mostly whispered, melodic and often reminiscent of a slightly more pastoral-sounding Sleeping on Roads by Neil Halstead) are absent, that impression just gains weight.
But, and it is a big but, that would suggest Moore is a passenger on his own album and nothing could be further from the truth because Sonic Youth (and some of his solo work) has always had melodic substance. The lovely and dark (and free associating) Orchard Street could have come from one of the more recent SY albums -- as could the mesmerising and slightly droning Mina Loy.
Those expecting this Moore solo outing to be a firestorm of guitars will find this tame, but although it breaks no new ground (if Moore's name wasn't attached you do wonder if would receive quite the attention) it is certainly an entracing album which reveals its layers of arrangements and lyrics with each new hearing.
Like the sound of this? Then check out this.
FOR OTHER 'BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2011' ALBUMS GO HERE.
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