Sonic Youth, 'Machine'

Few rock bands stayed as adventurous as Sonic Youth, and that was true right up until the end of its three-decade run in 2011. In/Out/In collects mostly instrumental jams from the 2000s, an era that split the difference between song-based guitar rippers and sprawling improvised noise. "Machine" comes from The Eternal sessions in 2008 and brilliantly showcases Sonic Youth's ability to be economical, yet still inquisitive. Steve Shelley drives the steady, cymbal-forward beat for a wily theme by bassist Kim Gordon and guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. "Machine" chugs and sidewinds in start-stop variations with perfectly-timed feedback in a fashion that will feel familiar to any Sonic Youth devotee, but the melody finds an unruly earworm digging into the crooked crevices.

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