Sonic Youth have been associated with a bewildering number of styles and movements over their 20 year history and whilst it a near impossible task to pick a favourite album out of their rich and varied oeuvre, ‘Goo’ is probably the best place for the uninitiated to start.

The last of five indispensable albums Sonic Youth released in the late 1980s, they had the good sense to ensure their first release with major label muscle behind it was also their most accessible. Their well-documented tendency toward feedback-drenched experimentation is held in check and forced into coherent 3-minute song structures.

But this temporary embrace of rock n’ roll conventions is solely on SY’s terms and in no way smacks of a sell out (Goo is often unfairly labelled as bubblegum punk by elitist SY fans) yet in it’s own way as adventurous and diverse any of its predecessors, the only constant being those expertly de-tuned guitars. Lyrically and musically all three of the band’s songwriters are at the top of their game: Kim Gordon manages to simultaneously trash the mythologizing of dead musical icons and pay tribute to heroine Karen Carpenter on ‘Tunic.’ Whilst Thurston Moore displays his long term love of hardcore punk on the abrasive ‘Mildred Pierce’ and the often overlooked Lee Ranaldo produces one of the finest songs on this or any Sonic Youth album in the form of ‘Disappearer.’

Like all great SY albums, Goo manages to simultaneously give an immediate pure noise thrill, whilst ceaselessly pushing the boundaries of popular music. Indeed by ceaselessly innovating for 20 years Sonic Youth have changed the face of ‘alternative’ music. Almost every significant band of the past decade is forever in their debt: Goo is the best place to begin finding out why.

Goo is an album that banishes its ideas into a haze of feedback fog and then resurrects its semblences of songs onto the alt-rock dance floor. This time, Sonic Youth exchange a vaccum of noise for some structure. 'Dirty Boots' is the best first album track in recent history, really saying somethings started. The grooves of Thurstan's industrial grind are often meloncholy platforms for Kim's sweet voice...This sure-fire precurser to 'Dirty' wants to blow your ear drums and pinch your ass at the same time - buy it!

For me, my first Sonic youth album and still the best ( "sister" coming a very close second ). The Parents of countless Lo-Fi, Alternative, Grunge bands they have been pluggin away now since around '82 (yeah, I know- that puts them, like, in their 40's or something!). Its not even a matter of being ahead of their time- no band was really close to their sound then and short of a few pretenders today (the dissonant but rather on-dimensional Placebo) they are still a unique treat. Along with 'Sister' (also highly recommended) this album seemed to herald a turn away from the looser, more wandering early stuff (Daydream Nation- many peoples favourite) towards more punchier, scratchy and raw sound. At the same time their songwriting blossomed into a true cooler than cool phase.

Get some headphones, turn out the lights and wallow in the deep, rich layering of guitars and distortion this album contains.

A great place to start for the sophisticated 'alternative' mind looking to flex those aural muscles a bit.

This is a wonderfully crafted album that sets Sonic Youth apart from all other bands of the same genre. It was a model for other bands to copy and has never ever been rivalled. Today, it still sounds fresh and relevant and many many bands owe a lot to this sound. "Tunic" shows just how harrowing and beautifull Sonic Youth can sound, while "Kool Thing" is about as catchy as any song they ever wrote. If you are tired of the same old grungy stuff from the same era then buy this. The early nineties never got any better.