Sonic Youth play London – almost

reviews, news & interviews

Next Tuesday, 31 May, will be a day of difficult choices for fans of New York’s Sonic Youth. London is hosting three separate shows by band members and associates. That evening their mainstay guitarist, Thurston Moore, plays the Union Chapel. SY’s drummer, Steve Shelley, is at The Borderline, guesting with Chicago’s Disappears. And Half Japanese, who both Shelley and Moore have collaborated with, are headlining at The Scala.

Moore is in town promoting his new album, the acoustic Demolished Thoughts, issued this week. The musicians who accompanied him in the studio join him live. His hand-packed support act is the Seventies singer-songwriter Michael Chapman, a favourite of Moore’s. It’ll be an evening of reflection, albeit with the edge that Moore always brings.

The Disappears show won’t be acoustic. Their first European gig will be intense. Their two albums, Lux and Guider, are benchmark-level exercises in intensely dark psychedelia. Disappears’ guitar rock is grounded in relentless Krautrock-style rhythms and touches on the sounds of the early Cramps and Spacemen 3. The underpinning that Shelley brings should make for an unforgettable experience.

Friends and family of Sonic Youth, Baltimore’s Half Japanese began making a noise in 1975 and haven’t stopped since. It’s brought them a cachet that led to collaborations with members of the Velvet Underground and enthusiastic support from Kurt Cobain. Mainman Jad Fair's solo album I Like to See You Smile featured Steve Shelley. The pair also recorded together as Mosquito. Thurston Moore’s first solo album, 1995’s Psychic Hearts, featured Shelley along with former Half Japanese guitarist Tim Foljahn.

Sonic Youth super Tuesday is going to be a headache. But a choice must be made.