Following the dissolution of Sonic Youth — due to a very public separation between Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon — each member of the beloved and influential band went their separate ways. For most artists fresh from an emotional break up, redefining yourself and finding something new outside the context of the band can come with some growing pains. For Moore, it’s been an opportunity to further explore aspects of his shape-shifting yet identifiable sound in different musical settings.
First there was his Beck-produced 2011 album, Demolished Thoughts — an introspective, almost spiritual acoustic record, full of evocative layers of guitars and strings. Then in 2012, he formed his new band Chelsea Light Moving, which put out its white noise punk debut last year. Now, Moore is back again with another solo effort, The Best Day.
Recorded in London with his newly dubbed Thurston Moore Band — featuring guitarist James Sedwards (Nøught), bassist Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine) and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley — The Best Day splits the difference between Moore’s various eras, while pushing ahead into new territory. Throughout, there’s touches of sludgy ‘90s alt-rock, thorny post punk, and repetitive minor key vamps — like on “Forevermore” and “Speak To The Wild” — which build slowly-but-steadily toward transcendent peaks.
For an artist who’s been a constant experimenter at the forefront of the indie rock scene seemingly from the start, Thurston Moore has little left to prove. But with The Best Day, he sounds primed to start the next new chapter.
Shot some photos of Thurston Moore performing in the Soundcheck studio at WNYC.