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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Rather Ripped
by Sonic Youth


8.8

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 40 votes
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Rate this album

This self-produced 20th album finds the New York band back down to a four-piece, with Jim O'Rourke dropping out after two albums.

LABEL:	Geffen
RELEASE DATE:	13 June 2006
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Alternative, Rock

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Stylus Magazine

This is their radio-rock record, and it's not a tribute, it's as close to the real thing as they've come since they actually had a chance at radio play back in the '90s.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Rather Ripped is unmistakably a Sonic Youth album, right down to the snatches of amp-on-fire distortion, the tuneless speak-singing of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, and an emphasis on guitar texture that includes amplifying each strummed string. But the conventional rock-song structures of "Incinerate," while not unheard of for Sonic Youth, here feel unexpectedly and warmly classicist.

Neumu.net

Rather Ripped is what you'd expect from a Sonic Youth that's getting back to the cool rock 'n' roll sound they trademarked years ago, completed by a tagline of frenzied feedback and chiming guitars.

Prefix Magazine

To call the album the band's most accessible to date is no slur. There's nothing wrong with accessible indie rock when it's this pristine and polished.

Slant Magazine

Rather Ripped is probably one of the best records in Sonic Youth's catalog, and definitely one of the best albums of 2006.

The Guardian

Rather Ripped may not have the cultural impact of 1989's Daydream Nation, but it contains some of the best music of their career.

The New York Times

It is a fully legitimate, clear and strong rock 'n' roll record in the band's own style. And it may really be the best one.

The Phoenix

[Sonic Youth's] most openly “mature” disc, possibly their best since ’95’s Washing Machine, maybe even the almighty Daydream Nation.

cokemachineglow

A quietly brilliant album.

Entertainment Weekly

It's the arresting delicacy of the quieter, dreamier tunes that'll really rip up your emotions.

Dot Music

All in, this is a terrific, life-affirming and, at times, deeply romantic album - one that proves the potentials in both rock'n'roll and the electric guitar.

Playlouder

'Rather Ripped' is the most accomplished and mature album Sonic Youth have done in years.

Billboard

"Rather Ripped" is a concise serving of what the band does best.

All Music Guide

It's a solidly good album, and if taken as part of a trio of albums with Sonic Nurse and Murray Street, it shows that Sonic Youth is still in a comfortable yet creative groove, not a rut.

Uncut

Several tracks are up with their best. [Jul 2006, p.88]

Drowned In Sound

Rather Ripped is what you'd expect from a Sonic Youth that's getting back to the cool rock 'n' roll sound they trademarked years ago, completed by a tagline of frenzied feedback and chiming guitars.

Rolling Stone

Rather Ripped is an excellent record, one of the strongest to emerge from Sonic Youth's amazing late period.

NOW Magazine

With Rather Ripped they continue their slow but remarkable progression that currently finds them, for the most part, dropping old SY standbys such as long experimental noise passages in exchange for a significantly more sedated route.

Mojo

There's surely never beena Sonic Youth album so unself-conscious. [Jul 2006, p.98]

Alternative Press

Rather Ripped is the sound of a band no longer setting their distortion pedals on stun, and, as a result, the best songs are as low-key as a small town on Sunday morning. [Aug 2006, p.218]

Paste Magazine

About as accessible and smooth as this band is going to get. [Aug 2006, p.85]

ShakingThrough.net

Rather Ripped is a solid collection of songs smartly executed by a band secure in its legacy and refusing to go gently into that good rock night.

Los Angeles Times

It almost makes you wonder what would have happened if Television and Peter Frampton had worked together. That's a compliment. [11 Jun 2006]

Pitchfork

Doused with sleek and slippery riffs, the album's early succession of propulsive, three-minute art-pop songs is especially strong.

PopMatters

It seems to complete a circle, to contain something of everything the band has attempted over the years.

New Musical Express

It is indeed a really good record--but not a patch on their 1988 masterpiece 'Daydream Nation'. [17 Jun 2006, p.37]

Q Magazine

Their most mature album to date. [Jul 2006, p.118]

The Wire

What stands out across Rather Ripped are the remarkable melodic turns throughout. [#268, p.63]

Dusted Magazine

It’s a fitting overview of everything that’s always worked for Sonic Youth in the past.

Under The Radar

Rarely have they laid down so many tunes that are this downright pretty, hummable, even. [#14]

E! Online

[It] feels more overly familiar and Velvet Underground-y than usual, which isn't a good thing for a band with such forward-thinking ideals.

Tiny Mix Tapes

Rather Ripped comes off as a collection of good-and-great songs, but it just isn't up there with their best.

Blender

Their songiest record in more than a decade. [Jun 2006, p.145]

Spin

Ripped is about three- or four-minute songcraft--never the highlight of their resume. [Jul 2006, p.88]

The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 40 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mike C gave it a10:
This album made me very happy. Personally, I think it's their best since Washing Machine, even though I enjoy pretty much everything they put out. They continue to be the band everyone wishes they were in. IMHO, You can't get any cooler than Sonic Youth.

David H. gave it an8:
Compulsively listenable with a far more subtle quality to the arrangements and an altogether more organic feel than its predecessor; the ambitious, but inconsistent Sonic Nurse. Sonic Youth sound more confident than they have ever been since Daydream Nation, I'm not kidding. Having accepted their arrival into middle age, Kim and particularly Thurston no longer sound as if they have any hangups about still trying to sound like college kids anymore. From Goo up until Sonic Nurse, there has always something of the grunge era to Sonic Youth. Though these albums had standout tracks and they maintained a willingness to give us complex song structures, a sense of genuine sonic experimentation and , by turn, authenticity had been missing from their music. Although Rather Ripped could never be mistaken for anything leftfield (the exhilarating noise of "Helen Ljungberg" aside), it's unique among SY's discography. Though they might be accused of not trying very hard, they don't need to. It's not their most fun album, but hey, they're taking life at a different pace now and while Rather Ripped falls way short of being a classic, it manages to be both dignified and consistently enjoyable. Roll on the next album.

Alex C gave it an8:
I hate how critics always have to compare everything. I think comparing "Rather Ripped" to "Daydream Nation" is stupid. "Rather Ripped" is simply an excellent record, no need to compare Sonic Youth to themselves. How about instead compare "Rather Ripped" to other bands today.

John O gave it an8:
Yes! been waiting for SY to release an album like this for a while. Its well up there with Goo, Daydream & Dirty. Go find it people.

Reuben F gave it an8:
While not up to the standards they set on Teenage Nation (1988), Goo (1990), Dirty (1992), or Experimental Jet Set, Trash & No Star (1994), it nonetheless comes close, which is saying alot, considering the forementioned albums rank among the greatest ever released.

djm gave it an8:
Yes, Sonic Youth is still good. I am giving this only an 8 because it is obviously not in the upper-ech of Daydream and Dirty, and I think that there are a couple of missteps (ie Rapture) that put it below Nurse and Murray. So it's about as good as Leaves. So yes, any other band this is a 9, but solely for differentiating between SY albums, it's an 8.

Steven G gave it a9:
Yet another fantastic album by Sonic Youth! Whether you are a long-time fan, or just getting into their music, this is an essential album from one of the world's most tireless and important bands.

Rather Ripped by Sonic Youth

Rather Ripped
by Sonic Youth