Artist: Chelsea Light Moving
Label: Matador Records
Release: year
Runtime: 45:06
Rating: 4.1/5
Thurston Moore was the face of the alternative and indie rock scene of the 1980s. Thurston Moore was the face of the alternative and indie rock scene of the 1990s. And now, in the 21st century, Thurston Moore is back again as the face of times that are in the spotlight like never before. Sonic Youth are history, sure (mainly because of the split between Thourston Moore and Kim Gordon, Sonic Youth’s bassist and singer), but they’re apparently getting reincarnated (or are they?) in Moore’s new project – Chelsea Light Moving.
Of course, Chelsea Light Moving aren’t Sonic Youth, and that’s not their goal either. But a personal voice like Thurston Moore’s just can’t be changed. Not that anyone wants to change it anyway. There’s probably, and always will be, a little bit of Sonic Youth in every Moore project, but that »little bit of Sonic Youth« is really just a whole lot of Thurston Moore. And that’s exactly what Chelsea Light Moving is, among other things – a whole lot of Thurston Moore. The band, which formed last year, so in 2012, is rounded out by three other typical instruments (Moore has naturally taken over vocals and guitar) – Samara Lubelski on bass (of course a Moore band has to have a female bassist, not a male one; Samara has been working with Moore for a long time, contributing violin parts to a lot of his albums), John Moloney on drums, and Keith Wood on second guitar. The self-titled debut came out practically right after this lineup came together.
The debut Chelsea Light Moving is basically a pretty confusing record. On one hand, it’s dark and noisy at times, with that truly dissonant noise-rock soul, but on the other hand it’s downright goofy, very primal and »Moore-style« simple – maybe even too simple. The tracks are full of counterpoints, weird dissonances, anti-melodies and open chords, yet at the same time they’re so ”catchy”, so pleasant, simple right off the bat, almost radio-friendly… In a way the songs are typical Moore, and in a way they’re not at all. I honestly can’t tell whether the record is genius or so strangely, extremely simple that it’s almost absurd. But the fact is it’s insanely ”catchy”, and yet you hear these odd chords, dissonant lines, mismatched transitions, and on top of it all Thurston’s vocals, which, as always, sort of recite, always seem to be botching it, and yet always sound perfectly locked in with the (open-chord) music.
A similar kind of simple-minded unraveling is going on in the lyrics – at first glance they reflect the spirit of 1980s youth, that zeitgeist which is ”in” again on the alt and indie waves. The words are also shot through with Moore’s trademark quirky wit, which occasionally hints at something deeper, and other times makes you wonder whether Moore is just locked in a time capsule in his 20s (his looks certainly stayed there, and he’s probably hiding a portrait in the attic that ages in his place). Of course, not all the lyrics are just some strange confessional catharsis. They also take in current events (whether social or even political) and a kind of tribute to avant-garde artists of the 1960s, including the poet Frank O’Hara, the writer William Burroughs and the composer Philip Glass; all of it is presented from a twisted angle, and through Moore’s brilliant gift for lyrical storytelling it gets labeled and problematized. All of it still delivered in a witty, simple and often dumb-as-a-rock form, which is just what you’d expect from Thurston.
Chelsea Light Moving isn’t some Thurston Moore side project trying to swap out Sonic Youth fans’ favorite band and make them tear the Sonic Youth posters off their walls. It’s not some pathetic Sonic Youth stand-in either, even though Moore’s signature sound is the same (and rightly so). Chelsea Light Moving can be a seriously great, completely new band that just happens to include Thurston Moore, the (former) frontman of the legendary Sonic Youth. The debut Chelsea Light Moving does carry the spirit of the early years of that scene movement, but it feeds on the here and now, on the current zeitgeist and on fresh inspirations, even if those turn toward and pay tribute to some older artists (the 1960s avant-garde). Thurston Moore doesn’t recycle lyrics or guitar lines. Thurston Moore goes beyond Sonic Youth. And Thurston Moore is now Chelsea Light Moving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qmIvFuF8r4
Lineup
Thurston Moore – guitars, vocals
Samara Lubelski – bass
John Moloney – drums
Keith Wood – guitar
Production
Justin Pizzoferrato
Tracklist
1. “heavenmetal”
2. “Sleeping Where I Fall”
3. “Alighted”
4. “Empires of Time”
5. “Groovy & Linda”
6. “Lip”
7. “Burroughs”
8. “Mohawk”
9. “Frank O’Hara Hit”
10. “Communist Eyes”
