As sad as it was when Sonic Youth announced their indefinite hiatus in 2011, there’s comfort in knowing that the band members remain musically active. As the co-front person of the seminal alternative noise rock act, Thurston Moore cemented himself as one of the most unique guitarists of our time, utilising odd tunings and unconventionally manipulating his fret board. He carries on the tradition with ease in his solo project, holding a mirror to the latter part of his work with Sonic Youth.
His performance at the Prince variously recalled the progressive soul of The Diamond Sea and the indie riffs of Pink Steam, all of it coated with subtle splashes of the noisy rock riffs from mid-era Sonic Youth albums such as Goo. Moore ripped out an arsenal of harmonic strikes and delay-staggered riffs, creating a similar sound to a high pitched violin. The ambient sections could’ve accompanied a David Attenborough documentary on frilled neck lizards, such was the longwinded desert feel.
Many of the songs were sprawling, dominated by semi-seething emotional guitar work, backed by a sense of lyrical yearning. There was a clever contradiction to the performance – some of the riffs may have seemed relatively simple, but were delivered with ample tightness to build an impressive wall of sound.
Germs Burn led us into a summery thrash session, full of shimmering highs and guttural chugging lows. Moore tenaciously shredded his guitar, breaking a string by the end of the song. As he waited for his guitar to be restrung, he shot some words with a few failed comedians in the audience before treating us to a few tracks from his upcoming 2016 release, Rock’n’roll Consciousness.
A three song double encore brought us to the end of the set, starting with a throwback to the mid-’90s as they performed Staring Statues. Moore’s high vocals were thrown in behind heavy bluesy riffs, before he took a breather to dedicate a song to celebrity interviewer Nardwuar, who recently suffered a stroke. The grand finale saw Moore moving his hand over his guitar like a spider crawling on ice, generating beautiful airy notes so light in form they were barely tangible.
BY THOMAS BRAND
Loved: I’m a huge Sonic Youth/Thurston Fan. So, all of it.
Hated: Few arse clowns in the audience but nothing world shattering.
Drank: Liquids.
