In the 2000s,
Sonic Youth seemed to find the perfect balance between the challenging and accessible poles of their music. As they ranged from
Murray St.'s contemplation to
The Eternal's formidable rock, they sounded in touch with their past and eager to push forward, a feeling that extends to
In/Out/In. Released by Three Lobed -- which issued many projects from the band's members over the years -- this collection of largely unreleased tracks reflects all the different kinds of music they made in their final decade. Recorded in 2008 at
Kim Gordon and
Thurston Moore's home in Northampton, Massachusetts, "Basement Contender" is a mellow, rolling showcase for
Moore and
Lee Ranaldo's guitar interplay with a pastoral warmth that becomes a blaze of distortion in the final moments of its nine-minute length. By contrast, "Machine," also recorded during
The Eternal sessions, is crunchy and tense, packing as much feedback and fractured atonal riffing into its three and a half minutes as possible. The band's chemistry sounds especially potent on "Out & In," a hypnotic churn recorded with
Jim O'Rourke in 2000 that resembles the intro of
Daydream Nation's "Candle" exploded into a 12-minute epic. "Social Static," another 2000 track recorded with
O'Rourke, dives into the group's noisiest territory with thick slabs of fuzz, plunging guitars, and squealing effects; that the most chaotic track here was also the score to a film is pure
Sonic Youth. On moments like this,
In/Out/In resembles the SYR series (which the band also revived in the 2000s), but those releases sometimes felt like a more conscious effort for the group to return to their experimental bona fides in the wake of their mainstream success. The ease that
Sonic Youth display on every track here is particularly appealing on 2010's "In & Out" (which, like "Out & In," originally appeared on the Three Lobed box set Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them). No single element of the track is especially flashy, but the combination of
Steve Shelley's delicately galloping stickwork, the heat shimmer guitar textures and harmonics, and
Gordon's stream-of-consciousness crooned whispers is magnetic. The next best thing to sitting in on a
Sonic Youth jam session,
In/Out/In distills the band's essence so brilliantly that fans will fall in love all over again. ~ Heather Phares