Daydream Nation

iTunes Review

Throughout the 1980s with each successive studio album, NYC’s Sonic Youth came closer to flirting with mainstream rock n’ roll. Their abundant feedback, discordant drones, alternate guitar tunings and cryptic lyrics were being applied to more “conventional” song structures as the band’s popularity took an unexpected rise. Daydream Nation appeared at the end of the ‘80s as CDs were quickly becoming the popular medium. Nation took advantage of the 70-minute length, indulging in extended instrumental hi-jinks and an abundance of song ideas. Every aspect of the group’s approach is represented from the compact rock thrust of “Silver Rocket” (that also features a mid-song breakdown and a dramatic return to form) to the epic styling of the album’s closing “Trilogy” where the guitars pile up with progressive rock ambition. This is still not easily accessible music. The hooks are often buried in the murk, and the wall of sound takes several plays to penetrate. While “Hey Joni,” “Total Trash” and “Teenage Riot” feature catchphrases to orient oneself, the instrumental onslaughts are meant to send the listener into suspended time and space where gravity and traditional musical expectations are transcended. They succeed more often than not.