Sonic Youth Effectively On Hiatus

In an interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Lee Ranaldo said the group’s November tour will be the group’s “last shows for a while.”

The future of New York’s definitive post-punk group was cast into doubt in October when it was announced that founding members Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon were separating after 27 years. Ranaldo acknowledged the rooming situation on tour had been different, but offered little insight into band’s current interpersonal dynamic. He promised that the group still had a lot of archival material they wanted to make available to the public. Ranaldo himself is readying a solo album and tour.

Sonic Youth formed in 1981, initially part of New York’s no wave scene. Their first records demonstrated a penchant for minimalism, dissonance, drones, and noise, veering from moody post punk to occasional prot0-industrial blasts. A kind of warped pop sensibility emerged on Evol (1986), the first in a trio of classic late 80s records including Sister (1987) and the career-defining Daydream Nation (1988).

In the 90s Sonic Youth became–like their recently disbanded peers REM–elder statesmen of indie rock. Their jump to the major label Geffen Records helped precipitate the alternative rock boom of the early 90s, back when people still bought records.

After a number of uneven records they made a return to form on Sonic Nurse (2004) and Rather Ripped (2006). The alternate tunings and long, winding instrumental sections were still intact, but Sonic Youth, after 25 years, had evolved into an accessible and melodic rock group. If they’ve truly broken up, they will soon join the likes of The Clash, The Velvet Underground, and The Ramones as the new classic rock.