Ken's Best Albums of 2013: #5: Chelsea Light Moving

Since Sonic Youth is my favorite all time band, I couldn't wait to hear what the various members are getting up to now that Sonic Youth is seemingly done. Even when I first heard The Eternal, something about it seemed final and I fully expected it to be their last. Of course, the way the band ended was the one way I couldn't accept, and it makes me want to hate Thurston Moore's new project, Chelsea Light Moving. Fortunately (Unfortunately?), I still love this album. 

It sounds more like a more polished Evol era Sonic Youth, but Thurston is allowed to explore his more punk and metal influences more than he ever did in Sonic Youth. "Sleeping Where I Fall" starts off like a typical Sonic Youth song, but devolves into European death metal sludge. The psychedelia of the last few Sonic Youth albums is almost completely gone (despite "Groovy & Linda" being a song title) and has been replaced with much more aggression and controlled chaos. The album isn't perfect. "Lip" is probably the weakest song, with it's chorus of "too fucking bad" repeated so many times I probably would have felt uncomfortable at 14. "Frank O'Hara Hit" is my personal favorite, somehow combining the metal sound of Helmet with Sonic Youth's punk side and groovier side.

Chelsea Light Moving doesn't have any scheduled tour dates right now, but check out their website for some more info, and to watch some official live videos show at a friend's party in Northampton earlier this year. You can also stream their self-titled debut below.