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Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth
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Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 45 Ratings

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10 out of 10
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  • Summary: 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.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Stylus Magazine
    91
    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.
  2. The A.V. Club
    91
    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.
  3. Blender
    60
    Their songiest record in more than a decade. [Jun 2006, p.145]
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See all 34 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Veillantif
    10
    For a group whose reputation has long rested on tremendous risk-taking, to make a risk-averse album can be itself risky: it stands to be denigrated as dull and half-assed by some critics who think that innovation can only go in one direction—away from conventional song structures. As a reflexive stance, this is healthy: we should always be reserved toward, if not downright skeptical of, music that is melodic and accessible and catchy. In 2006, it would have been foolish to place Rather Ripped among the best of SY's albums, or with the best albums of the decade. Now that we have had five years to plumb its depth beyond surface appeal, that judgment seems fairly wise.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MikeC
    10
    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.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Joe
    4
    Hm, don't get me wrong. Sonic Youth is my favourite band, but this album just isn't that good. I find it pretty boring, and their worst album to date.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 30 User Reviews

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