Taking their trademark experimental noise to the next level, Sonic Youth have just releases a series of three EPs that were simply too hardcore for David Geffen. And there's definitely no hit single on this disc. Instead what you get is three lonely, instrumental tracks that brings to mind starry, country skies and lower- east side bars after hours. The fourth and final track, "Mieux: De Corrosion," on the other hand, is a symphony of noise and deconstruction that will crush you in the palm of its proverbial hand.

While it's the kind of thing we're used to from Sonic Youth, Anagrama does take them in a slightly different, more ambient direction. You'll hear nothing quite so gritty as "Kool Thing" and nothing as pop- driven as "100%." Just shimmering drones, beautiful melodies and guitars altered with screwdrivers. Yeah, they're still new-wave, aren't they?

-Ryan Schreiber