Bad Moon Rising

The first in a loose trilogy of works that brought Sonic Youth gradually out of the noise-rock underground and onto the “alternative” scene, Bad Moon Rising is a dark and hypnotic dream of an album. The songs flow together in a continuous suite, bridged by collages that feature samples of songs like the Stooges’ “Not Right” emerging from waves of noise. Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon deliver the lyrics in long, wavering moans like funereal incantations, as their detuned guitars clang and crunch and explode in post-Hendrixian clouds of pure sound. Bob Bert’s minimal, tribal drumming anchors songs like “I Love Her All The Time” and “Brave Men Run (In My Family),” while later tracks like “I’m Insane” and “Justice Is Might” echo the work of onetime tourmates Swans. The big finale, “Death Valley ’69,” is a throbbing, howling “tribute” to the Manson Family, with guest sneers from Lydia Lunch.