Thurston Moore

Collaborating with Beck, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore presents his loveliest, gentlest songs on Demolished Thoughts. The mystical folk/acoustic aspects might surprise casual fans but, as diehards know, he's more than a manic punk rock guitar geek. As a producer, Beck heightens the hippie poet in Moore ― a figure drawn to beautiful turns of phrase or dreamy chord sequences that stretch out to some captivating, cosmic infinity. Solo folk-rock excursions can be so blasé, but Moore remains daring on ear-pleasers like "Benediction," whose vaguely discordant solo is measured by a cleverly arranged melodic foundation. His voice too, an unheralded force, is calming on "Blood Never Lies." In fact, the stabbing climax of "Orchard Street," with its insistent string section meshing with Moore's alternately tuned guitar, is the closest thing to a genuine threat here. On the gorgeous Demolished Thoughts, Thurston Moore exhibits an unusual power, which is steeped in tranquillity.