There have been two alternatives with Thurston Moore‘s solo albums thus far: either heartfelt and catchy tunes, or noise. On »Screen Time« Moore breaks with this tradition and adds a third alternative. Quiet melodies and little sketches. On his seventh album, the guitarist from the still disbanded Sonic Youth works his way through electronic chamber music. During the almost forty minutes, he doesn’t sing, doesn’t experiment and doesn’t strum. Sure, he’s still tuned the guitars so that the delivery feels a lot like those twenty-seven seconds from before, when a Sonic Youth song found its way from noise back into pop. Without the context though, it feels different. More confusing. Thurston Moore also fails to create any contrast whatsoever, any tension. Just atmosphere. The catchiest moment by the 63-year-old US guitarist is at the end of the album, when a soft feedback hums in »The Realization«. In contrast, there are tracks like »The Home«. The whole thing stands crookedly in space from the very first second. Nothing shakes. Rather, »Screen Time« is like a meditation on six strings. Far away from any feel-good sound. And yet perhaps the most surprising album Thurston Moore has released in a long time.
Screen Time
