Review: Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts

Thurston Moore Demolished Thoughts [Matador/Ecstatic Peace; 2011]
By Jessica Callender

On an early Tuesday morning, faint notes of summer are finally drifting in and I’m comfortably settled in my bed listening to Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts which was released yesterday. Moore, who initially got his start as the lead singer and accompanying guitarist of Sonic Youth has maintained an almost omnipresence within the alternative indie scene since the ‘80s. As such, his wealth of experience clearly shows throughout the new album as it contains elements that are nostalgically woodsy, yet refined as acoustic notes of guitar, violin, and harp are layered beautifully throughout.

In addition to a somewhat thematic feel, Demolished never has any true variances in regards to energy levels and chords as Moore’s detached vocals croon around the simple idea of love, and love lost, especially present in tracks such as “Blood Never Lies”, “In Silver Rain with a Paper Key”, “Mina Loy” and the album’s final song “January.” With Beck Hansen as his producer, the duo create an entirely relaxed environment that is led both by instrumentation and evocative lyrics; Beck’s touches are somewhat subtle as soft notes generally point in the direction of his own inspiration, most notably from his 2002 record Sea Change.

Most of the tracks are quite long, the average track just about a little over five minutes. But none are quite the journey into sound as the track “Space,” an almost seven minute song with a three minute intro, poetic verse, and then a three minute outro. It works though, as the composition of the track transports you to an airy space in a trippy-like fashion. Another favorite I must comment on is lead single and album opener “Benediction,” an allegory of sweetly touching, mildly obsessive lyrics which also almost became the title track for the entire album. Moore touches upon his roots on the track “Circulation” which honestly sounds like Sonic Youth unplugged complete with sawed-over strings and twists and turns throughout the melody, a truly nice surprise.

Demolished Thoughts appears to be Moore’s way of letting the public know that he’s still in the game and although he may not be trying to win, he’s definitely keeping us mellow.

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We will have photos and a full review of Thurston's intimate performance at Other Music this past Monday up shortly to conclude our coverage of Demolished Thoughts.