New Releases Tuesday - 6/13

Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped (Geffen) Been a while since you've checked in with Sonic Youth? This fine piece of press hyperbole should bring you up to speed: 2005 had SY revisiting awesome. Japan, touring the boroughs of New York, rollicking at the first Arthurfest in L.A., and releasing the special deluxe edition of GOO. After one final gnarl out in Brazil w/ Flaming Lips, The Stooges and others, Mr. Jim O'Rourke decided to concentrate full-time on his Japanese studies of language and film and SY was subsequently back to it's OG nucleus of Kim-Thurston-Lee-Steve. Songs were written, Jim recommended engineer TJ Doherty and J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr) recommended mix engineer John Agnello and SY created the oddly titled "Rather Ripped". The whole deal was recorded in the waning hours of 2005 into the dawn sunshine of 2006 at the venerable Sear Sound studios in NYC's fading theatre district. Partially mixed there and at Hoboken, NJ's Water Music by the golden juice ear of John Agnello it exhibits SY in positive vibration mode. 12 songs of forward motion and harmonic/melodic surprise. Vocals shared by the frontline of Thurston, Kim and Lee with Steve groove gluing the rhythms into rock n roll infection. After a string of dates across the country, SY finish off their summer tour with a return to Lollapalooza on August 5. Mr. Lif - Mo'Mega (Def Jux) Follow up to his amazing 2002 concept album, I Phantom, the part-time Perceptionist is back solo with El-P back at the controls. According to AllMusic, this one's a concept piece as well: the album concerns the intersection of lower-class culture with an increasingly modernizing world, and how the latter is adversely affecting the former. Check out Lif live at the Abbey Pub June 24th. Also this week... Barry Adamson - Stranger on the Sofa (Central Control) Tony Allen - Lagos No Shaking (Astralwerks) Brookville - Life in the Shade (Unfiltered) Couch - Figur 5 (Morr) Dabrye - Two/Three (Ghostly) Futureheads - News and Tributes (Vagrant) Hot Chip - The Warning (Astralwerks) Six Organs of Admittance - Sun Awakens (Drag City)