Evol (1986)

EVOL is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also their first to feature drummer Steve Shelley, who would remain a member of the band until their dissolution in 2011.

By this point, the band had developed a cult following in the underground American music scene, but their style had begun to evolve from their earliest recordings. In retrospective reviews, critics cite EVOL as marking Sonic Youth’s transition from their no wave roots toward a more pop-influenced sensibility, with Shelley's drumming style a key aspect of this change. Bassist Kim Gordon has referred to it as the band’s “Faux-goth record.”

The album has been widely acclaimed since its release. Pitchfork has praised the album, saying that EVOL "[was] where the seeds of greatness were sown", and placed the album 31st on their "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s" list, alongside Sonic Youth's next two albums, Sister and Daydream Nation, which ranked 14th and first, respectively.

Background

Going into EVOL, the band was coming off of a string of underground hits, becoming a popular underground live act as well as earning critical acclaim. In June 1985, during the Bad Moon Rising tour, drummer Bob Bert left the band and was replaced by Shelley. The new lineup quickly began working on new material for their third album.

The band signed to SST as, by 1986, label founder Greg Ginn was anxious for the label to move away from its American hardcore roots. Sonic Youth took a break from the tour and finished the writing for EVOL. In March 1986, the band recorded the album at BC Studio with Martin Bisi. EVOL was the second time that the band had worked with New York singer and performance artist Lydia Lunch. Lunch had shared vocals on Bad Moon Rising's "Death Valley '69", and on this record, she co-wrote the song "Marilyn Moore".

Content

Mike Watt played bass guitar on the tracks "In the Kingdom #19" and the band's cover of "Bubblegum". The band encouraged him to play on the former track shortly after Watt's Minutemen bandmate D. Boon died in a car crash. Watt had entered a severe depression following Boon's death and was considering leaving music; he credited the time he spent with the members of Sonic Youth during the recording of EVOL as a major factor in his decision to resume his music career. Watt's next band, Firehose, would support Sonic Youth on their Flaming Telepaths tour. During this time, the band began the Ciccone Youth side project, which featured all members of Sonic Youth and Watt. They released a single consisting of three tracks: "Into the Groove(y)" (a cover of Madonna's "Into the Groove") and the short "Tuff Titty Rap" on the A-side (both performed by the Sonic Youth members), and "Burnin' Up" (performed by Watt and Ginn) on the B-side. The project later resulted in 1988's The Whitey Album.

On the vinyl version of the album, the time length for "Expressway to Yr. Skull" was indicated by the infinity symbol (∞); the final moment of the song featured a locked groove. The CD and cassette versions added a cover of Kim Fowley's "Bubblegum" as a bonus track. According to Watt, he and Shelley played the basic rhythm track over Fowley's recording, which was afterwards removed when the other members added their parts.

Packaging

The album cover features a picture of model/actress Lung Leg in a still taken from the Richard Kern film Submit to Me. Leg had previously appeared in the "Death Valley '69" music video (directed by Kern and Judith Barry). The back cover shows a black-and-white picture of the band in a heart-shaped frame. The album's 10 songs are listed in a different order than the actual track listing. The members' names are listed on the back cover as well, although no instruments are assigned for them. It reads "guitars, vocals, drums", with "bass" hidden beneath the photograph of the band. The insert features the lyrics to the songs and the A-side depicts Thurston Moore, with eyes drawn on his hands, holding them up to his face. This photograph was later used for the cover of the "Starpower" single. To the left of this photograph is a panel from the Marvel comic book The New Mutants (found on the second page of issue #14, published April 1984). The other side contains pictures from horror films Friday the 13th Part 2 and Children of the Corn, with a still photo from the 1962 film House of Women featuring Constance Ford and Barbara Nichols. This image is only featured on the initial SST vinyl pressing and vinyl reissues after 2010, and was blacked out for all other releases.