Has there ever been a bad Sonic Youth record? I can't think of one, though I can think of some of their albums I rarely play (Sonic Youth, Sonic Nurse' The Whitey Album, some of the SYR recordings), but I'd never say they've recorded a duff album.

Sonic Youth's 16th album proper is their first indie LP (excepting the SYR stuff) for Matador, coming after a decade or so on Geffen. Odd that Geffen decided to let them go, or that there was a perceived sell-out with the compilation released via Starbucks. The Eternal is simply Sonic Youth.

There had been some pop-aspirations on prior album Rather Ripped' and there is a sense with the co-vocals and harmonies on several tracks here of that pop notion continuing - indeed 'Poison Arrow' features co-vocals from Gordon, Moore, and Ranaldo.

Touring bassist Mark Ibold (Pavement) has now taken a place in the band, and his presence seems to operate in the same manner that Jim O'Rourke's did when he joined as bassist and Kim Gordon moved to guitar.

In the last few years Sonic Youth have delivered more audience-friendly sets at ATP-festivals (this was following their notorious free-form performance at an ATP concert in 2001 later released as J'Accuse Ted Hughes, which resulted in a near riot) and revisited Daydream Nation as part of the Don't Look Back concerts. The Eternal sounds great - opener (download free here) 'Sacred Trickster' sounds like a band half the age of bands half of Sonic Youth's age, and this is followed by the splendid 'Anti-Orgasm' whose triple-guitar attack and jarring Gordon/Moore vocal sounds like classic SY to me.

For those who pine for Daydream Nation...well you can still buy that album - can a band not carry on beyond perceived classic? I'm not sure you could argue that playing Daydream Nation has meant the Youth are suddenly reinvigorated by their earlier selves, but it is tempting to suggest 'Malibu Gas Station' could have fitted on their 1988 classic (despite the title suggesting a sequel to Sister's 'Pacific Coast Highway').

The Eternal's press release has suggested that each song cites or references another artist or band - something overt in 'Leaky Lifeboat (for Greg Corso)' or 'Thunderclap for Bobby Pyn' - which refer to a Beat Poet and The Germs respectively . I'm not sure I really detect the apparent influences on each song, though love the idea of a band attempting to sound like another - all the more interesting when it comes out wrong. Then again, haven't Sonic Youth always made reference to other acts - The Boss, Burning Spear, The Carpenters, Dinosaur Jr., The Fall, My Bloody Valentine, Neu! etc...

Regardless of creative innovation, there are some great songs here - 'Antenna', Ranaldo's 'Walkin' Blue' (which I think sounds like The Cure!)' and the closing epic 'Massage the History' that suggests the more proggy SY of Murray Street/NYC Ghosts and Flowers is still present and correct.

The Eternal may confound those not otherwise converted - a band releases another great record and it seems faint praise to say' "Here's another fine album..." But here it is anyway..