The Eternal

About

The Eternal is the fifteenth and final studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on June 9, 2009, by Matador Records, their first and only on that label. It was their first studio album in three years (since Rather Ripped), making it the band's longest delay between studio albums. The Eternal was the band's highest-charting album of their career in the United States, peaking at No. 18 on the Billboard 200. After Rather Ripped (2006), the band's contract with Geffen Records had expired and the two parties decided to go their separate ways. At the same time, Jim O'Rourke was gradually replaced with Pavement bassist Mark Ibold. Gordon suggested recruiting him for live shows after having played with him in Free Kitten. Moore found that Ibold "immediately locked in, and had really prepared himself to the point where he knew the songs better than we did". When the band decided to record, it seemed natural to include Ibold. The process involved rehearsing the songs during the week in the basement of Moore and Gordon's house and subsequently recording them over the weekend. Shelley recalled, "It was like having a different project every week and it felt like we were doing a single every weekend. You kind of have to keep on your feet, the speed aspect to this album was very enjoyable". Eventually the band signed with Matador in 2008. However, the band had begun writing much of the material before changing record labels. On the pop-rock aspects of the album, Moore noted, "I can sort of see a relationship between some of The Eternal and Dirty in terms of the dynamic". He argued that the band "definitely wanted to make songs as opposed to doing an avant-garde opus". On the choice of Matador, he explained that "we decided that they're a really strong song-supportive label". Ranaldo noted how they found inspiration in their earlier recordings on Daydream Nation, which "had an energy that we'd kind of forgotten about, and some of that energy and the experience of doing those songs impacted on the new record." The cover art was painted by John Fahey. The album was dedicated to Ron Asheton of the Stooges. The Eternal was released on June 9, 2009, by record label Matador. The album was released digitally, on CD and as a double vinyl LP, in both a standard and a "Buy Early Get Now" (BEGN) edition. In 2009, it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 30,000 copies throughout Europe.

via Last.fm