Editorial Review
The Eternal is Sonic Youth’s 2009 celebration of newfound freedom. After many years signed to an
ever precarious corporate label, the band has been liberated and is releasing this CD with their friends
at Matador. Inspirations ran high in preparation for the recording. Abandoning the time tested routine
of writing and rehearsing a cycle of songs in one time period, SY changed tactics and would compose
two to three tracks one weekend and record them the following weekend. After a solid month they
had a dozen killers.
The writing took place in the Ecstatic Peace Folk + Cinema Basement in Northampton, MA and in the
bands own Echo Canyon West in Hoboken, NJ. All recordings were done at Echo Canyon West with
John Agnello at the board and Aaron Mullan in full assist. Agnello and band mixed the monster at
Water Music in Hoboken. Greg Calbi mastered it beautifully at Sterling Sound in NYC.
Twelve tunes that are a fireworks display of Sonic Youth touchstones. From the primal no wave attack
of its earliest days, to the radical chording and song structures of its 90s period, to the more focused
and contemporary explorations of the last five years.
