Thurston Moore, guitarist and vocalist of influential noise rock band Sonic Youth, is touring in support of his third solo album "Demolished Thoughts". The album showcases a softer, more acoustic sound than Sonic Youth's signature style. Moore is now separated from his wife and Sonic Youth bandmate Kim Gordon. Kurt Vile, who has a retro, unconventional style influenced by Springsteen and Dylan, will open for Moore's show in São Paulo. English pop duo The Ting Tings will also perform in São Paulo, playing songs from their second album "Sounds from Nowheresville" which mixes different styles, as well as their well-known hit "That's Not My Name

1. Music
66 timeout.com/sao-paulo April 2012
pressimage
pressimage
pressimage
A guitar icon for the alt-
rock generation, Thurston
Moore returns to town,
says CM Gorey
Sonic Youth may be taking an
indefinite hiatus, but the band’s
guitarist and vocalist Thurston
Moore is staying busy. After the
New York noise pioneers played
their last show in November 2011
at São Paulo’s SWU festival, Moore
was back on the road the following
week. Having spent the last thirty
years with Sonic Youth, and now
separated from his wife, bassist
Kim Gordon, the lanky No Wave
student turned alt-rock icon returns
in April, in continued support of
his most recent solo venture, last
year’s Demolished Thoughts.
A softer, acoustic-flavoured
affair, the third solo album for
Moore follows Trees Outside the
Academy (2007) and Psychic Hearts
(1995). With kindred ’90s college
rock favourite Beck handling both
production and musical duties,
the songs are lushly realised,
and fleshed out with violins and
harp. And whereas Sonic Youth’s
signature crescendo grew from
shimmering layers of off-kilter
guitar melodies, pedal fuzz and
amp feedback, Moore transforms
those raucous climaxes into
eerie, natural dissonances, like
in ‘Circulation’, where the violins
lurch menacingly over the drum-
Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile
& The Violators
White Denim
The Ting Tings
Live previews
less chug of continuous acoustic
guitar strumming.
Aside from those aggressive
moments, Demolished Thoughts
reveals the marks of an aging
musician breaking free from the
confines of being a rocker – even
if he’s considered a revered,
avant-garde one. Evidence of his
continued growth comes in the
form of ‘Benediction’: he’s clearly
become a competent singer, and
able to craft a mature record
without falling prey to the often-
dangerous tropes of a former noise-
maker aching to be taken seriously.
Moore’s Matador Records
labelmate, Kurt Vile (backed by
his touring band The Violators)
opens the show, providing a fitting
complement to the headliner.
Vile’s intentionally retro sound
often casts his songs in shadowy,
distant reverb and unconventional
overdrive blasts, while his rural
Pennsylvanian accent and adept
but meandering guitar playing
pushes his Springsteen- and
Dylan-inspired visions near the
fringes of outsider music. His
latest introspective offering, Smoke
Ring For My Halo, is a more lucid
collection than his previous three,
but remains inventive.
Thurston Moore and Kurt Vile
& The Violators play at 10pm on
12 April at Cine Joia, Praça Carlos
Gomes 82, Sé (3231 3705/cinejoia.
tv). Tickets R$70-$140.
Mellowing with age Moore takes a break from his usual sonic assaults
Like a breath of fresh air White Denim deftly refreshes progressive rock
Their pleasing melodies range
from a psychedelic delivery to a
straight-up hard rock one. And while
their sound is indelibly marked with
the classic rock guitar noodling
and jazzy chord progressions of
the 1970s, it’s also flavoured by the
sometimes raspy, sometimes airy
voice of singer/guitarist James
Petralli. White Denim reinvigorates
rock with an exquisite sound
bursting with vitality. We’ll be there.
Fabiana Caso
White Denim play at 11pm on 3
May at Beco 203, Rua Augusta 609,
Consolação (2339 0358/beco203.
com.br). Tickets R$40-$60.
Along with their usual
shout-along songs, the
duo delivers new sounds
It’s become difficult to pin down
The Ting Tings. How do you go
about describing a record produced
to imitate the feel of an iPod on the
shuffle setting? Their second full-
length studio album, Sounds from
Nowheresville, certainly hasn’t made
classifying the duo any easier.
While the record’s title captures
the intentional lack of stylistic
focus, fans will surely rejoice at
tracks like ‘Hang It Up’ or the bell-
ringing ‘Hit Me Down Sonny’, as
they replicate the slinky guitars and
clap-along, schoolyard white-girl
rap made famous with their 2008
hit ‘That’s Not My Name’.
Expect the English twosome’s
At the hands of this
inventive band, heady
rock is fun again
Straight out of Austin, Texas, the
quartet White Denim breathes
new life into the often clichéd
world of rock, and new meaning
into the well-worn phrase ‘eclectic
mix of styles’. Their latest album,
2011’s D, displays their dynamic
harmonies and carefully stitched
instrumentals. Dueling guitars
take us back to the best moments
in progressive rock – but more
energetically, and without so many
embellishments.
upcoming show to favour more
dance-ready bash-and-crash than
any of the other flavours found on
their most recent offering. CM Gorey
The Ting Tings play at 9pm on
1 May at Cine Joia, Praça Carlos
Gomes 82, Sé (3231 3705/cinejoia.
tv). Tickets R$160-$220.