Album Review... Thurston Moore - 'The Best Day'

Ex-Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore is back with a new album to be released on October 20th. Moore's new album 'The Best Day' will be his fourth solo release. On the release of the LP he is set to do a short UK tour in November. Though Moore is straying away from Sonic Youth, 'The Best Day' is not far different from Sonic Youth's distinctive sound. Here's what we think...

Opening with the eight and a half minute long 'Speak To The Wild', you seem to find yourself captivated to Moore's unique sound. Sonic Youth were very well known for their experimental post-punk anthems such as 'Teenage Riot', 'Schizophrenia' and 'Superstar' and Moore's solo work carries that same distinctive sound. Track two, just shy of twelve minutes long, includes long instrumentals of sounds that are simply a bit strange yet work so perfectly. 

Lyrics wise, Moore seems to have taken a little more personal approach to this album compared to some of Sonic Youth's angst-fuelled anti-sexism bangers. The distorted and slightly out of tune guitars mixed with his husky voice makes an angry sound in songs such as 'Detonation'. 'Detonation' is a song that let's steam, with powerful and harsh lyrics. It is followed by much slower 'Vocabularies' that starts with a two and a half minute long instrumental with acoustic guitars. When the vocals come in it remains a dark, grungy intense song. 

The long instrumentals continue in 'Grace Lake', a song that you can feel taking over your mind. Moore's distinctive guitar playing style accompanied by edgy drum beats creates a song that is crying for a mosh pit. The whole song feels like a massive build up. A lengthy build up of distortion to an explosion of psychedelic punk-rock goodness. Just when you think the seven minute long instrumental is over, it re starts it's self for a final minute of a calm and unforgettable guitar riff before coming to a slow yet monumental end. It's probably the best instrumental song you will ever hear.

Finally, the LP ends with 'Germs Burn'. With a heavy riff accompanied by punk-esque vocals and featuring a guitar solo that could either come from a Nirvana classic or an eighties hard-rock band, 'Germs Burn' is the perfect head nodding jam to close a brilliant album. 

It is possible that 'The Best Day' could be one of the best albums to be released this year. Moore's future after Sonic Youth is looking very healthy.

The track listing is as follows: 

Speak To The Wild

Forevermore

Tape

The Best Day

Detonation

Vocabularies

Grace Lake

Germs Burn

Out of 10: 9/10

You can steam Thurston Moore's 'The Best Day' over at NPR Music by clicking here and pre-order it here. Check out his tour dates here.

- Nathan McLaren-Stewart (@nxths)