Song of the Day — 03·12·26
Pink Steam
Sonic Youth
Murray Street was Sonic Youth's return to something more open and less fractured — released in 2002, the album had a warmth and spaciousness reflecting both the band's maturity and their response to September 11. It is one of their most underrated records.
Pink Steam is among the album's most beautiful tracks: Lee Ranaldo's guitar figures circling slowly, Thurston Moore's voice more gentle than usual, the rhythm section holding a loose, patient groove. The song lasts over seven minutes and feels shorter.
Sonic Youth's DGC-era catalog — from Goo (1990) through The Eternal (2009) — contains some of the most sustained creative output of any rock band of that era.
"Murray Street is Sonic Youth learning to breathe again."
— Pitchfork · 2002