Sonic Youth/I.C.P./The Ex
In The Fishtank - 9
(Konkurrent Records)

The "In the Fishtank" series was designed to be alternative medium for a band's creativity. An outlet, if you will, that provided ostensible securities for the unorthodox delvings into the dark musical beyond. On the sixth fishtank album, June of 44 provided a six song revolver teeming with innovation and time signature evolution. It was quite an impressive offering. I had hoped, upon listening, I would find the same exciting musical experimentation on this ninth record in the series.
Sonic Youth have failed miserably at carrying on that tradition, and I can hardly believe that Konkurrent would have wanted to even market or distribute it. It's tragic at best, hovering on some chaotic John Cage cloud line that is so far gone, people can't even pay attention to the design, if there even is a design. Strange enunciations of horns and random, hardly artsy, drum hits. I can't see how this record could facilitate the slightest emotion, thought stream, or smile, but if you're still interested, I'm sure it will be on sale in a couple of weeks.