I bought it the day it was released ... already a huge Sonik devotee, having bought almost all their records, i obviously couldn't wait to give it a listen. I lived in a dorm back then; when i came into the room after buying the cd, i grabbed my friend's discman, sat silently on the bed and ... medidated. Later my roommates described that as one of the funniest and weirdest things they ever saw.
Anyway, this album is a beautiful mixture of Sonic Youth's trademark noise, where you can actually hear the strumming _and_ the distortion _and_ the feedback all together. This album is also one of the best displays of Sonic Youth's techical ability and composing talent - yet in the same time it accents their minimalist approach.
All three vocalists participate -- Thurston Moore's songs are rocking, but mostly gentle. "Wildflower Soul" is a long rhythm-and-volume-changing melodic rockout; "Hits of Sunshine (to Allen Ginsberg)" is an even longer psychedelic solo- and wah-wah-savvy deity. Lee Ranaldo is poetic as usual with the quiet "Hoarfrost" and the epic "Karen Koltrane". Kim Gordon is angry and kicking in "The Ineffable Me" and "Female Mechanic" and shows her avantgarde side in "Contre le Sexisme" and "Heather Angel".
An interesting trivia thingie is that on this album the number of tracks sang by every vocalists is almost the same as on the previous album "Washing Machine": Lee has two, Thurston has four; Kim has five on "A Thousand Leaves", and four on "Washing Machine", but the unnamed instrumental track on the latter is in fact a reprise of her other song (the opener "Becuz").