| | Full Review | Ratings (233) |
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| 2.5 average | Nick Butler STAFF | March 24th 08 |
Some people would have you believe that Sonic Youth were at their peak before any of their canonical albums; that Confusion is Sex and Bad Moon Rising are more pure distillations of what made Sonic Youth so special than, say Evol or Dirty. They're idiots. Bad Moon Rising is largely a poor album made by a band who haven't yet found a solid ground on which to operate. It's unsure, unmemorable, and given what was to come in the two decades after this, underwhelming. Only "Death Valley '69" and "Brave Men Run (In My Family)" are worth salvaging.
1 Bumps | Bump |
| 5.0 classic | Riviere | March 1st 13 |
Fucked up and spacey. Probably their most interesting work.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | SowingSeason STAFF | August 9th 10 |
To put it simply, Bad Moon Rising is no sing-along. It is ugly and abrasive; and even its emotions are expressed with the utmost absence of concern. This is anything but a typical Sonic Youth album, but it is also one of the most intriguing and rewarding listens they have to offer. If you have even a passing interest in dark alternative rock, Bad Moon Rising is an essential addition to your collection.
Bump |
| 3.0 good | Michael Freitag | August 26th 07 |
There is something inescapably barren and desolate about Bad Moon Rising, an ineffable, pervasive, gloomy darkness - and perhaps this is part of its attraction. This album is about as nocturnal as you get. The amazingly lo-fi, almost-in-tune aesthetic of the album simply adds to the experience somehow, and helps overcome the rather hindering simplicity of Sonic Youth's early writing. The album's flow is steady and droning, mostly quiet and afraid, though saturated with assertive, rallying yells and sensual moans that punch right through the heavy fog settled in throughout. The only real standout amongst the windswept wasteland is "Death Valley '69", aided by the shrieking, esoteric Lydia Lunch, though the hopefully dark opening riffs of "Brave Men Run" make a strong case as well.
Bump |
| 4.0 excellent | Artuma | May 11th 13 |
| 3.5 great | MrElmo | April 10th 13 |
| 2.5 average | SamPJ93 | February 16th 13 |
| 2.0 poor | LC437 | December 18th 12 |
| 3.0 good | Agape | October 23rd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | nivniv1 | October 13th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Melanin | October 6th 12 |
| 1.5 very poor | bobbi | October 5th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Koda90 | September 14th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Lovegood | September 9th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Yakman | April 28th 12 |
| 4.5 superb | Foaming | February 12th 12 |
| 3.5 great | hughes | January 4th 12 |
| 2.0 poor | Ali CONTRIBUTOR | December 20th 11 |
| 2.5 average | jlech | November 21st 11 |
| 3.5 great | petrrr | October 18th 11 |
| 3.5 great | stfrnz | August 17th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | krkat | June 17th 11 |
| 3.5 great | Bill | March 4th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | zoso33 | February 25th 11 |
| 3.5 great | SCope13 | December 21st 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Timon87 | November 18th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Matski | September 16th 10 |
| 2.5 average | noisy | August 21st 10 |
| 3.5 great | IAJP | August 14th 10 |
| 5.0 classic | quaoar | May 25th 10 |
| 2.5 average | Moraff | April 28th 10 |
| 3.5 great | FLRTE | March 10th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | W. Ford | March 2nd 10 |
| 2.5 average | purvis | April 29th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Krampus | April 18th 09 |
| 3.0 good | Tater | January 26th 09 |
| 3.5 great | arnie2 | August 8th 08 |
| 3.0 good | Bhima | July 22nd 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | zach | January 27th 08 |
| 3.5 great | tuff | October 30th 07 |
| 2.5 average | jambian | August 18th 07 |
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