Sonic Youth Evol on LP + Download

1986's Evol was Sonic Youth's third studio effort, significant for one fairly obvious reason: the addition of Steve Shelley behind the kit. With his help, the group transitions from their no wave roots toward a more linear, accessible rock 'n' roll sound here highlighted by tracks like "Green Light" and "Expressway to Yr. Skull." Evol also features the first real "guest appearance" on a Sonic Youth album as Mike Watt of The Minutemen and Firehose fame contributes bass to "In The Kingdom #19."

"These songs say dreams are real. I can't think of a finer guide than "E.V.O.L." for a young person just discovering the wide world. Here are songs of total exploration, no positioning oneself on the dark side or the anti-dark side. Here are songs of total freedom. Give them to your little sister on her birthday." - album liner notes, Lisa Crystal Carver 

“Evol...mark[s] the true departure point of Sonic Youth’s musical evolution,” says Pitchfork, who place the album in the #31 slot of their Top 100 Albums of The 1980s. “In measured increments, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo...bring form to the formless, tune to the tuneless, and with the help of Steve Shelley’s drums..., [impose] melody and composition on their trademark dissonance.” 

1.  Tom Violence

2.  Shadow of a Doubt

3.  Star Power

4.  In the Kingdom

5.  Green Light

6.  Death To Our Friends

7.  Secret Girls

8.  Marilyn Moore

9.  Expressway to Yr. Skull