The Dark Story of Sonic Youth’s EVOL: How a Broken Musician Found Salvation in Distortion
In 1986, Sonic Youth unleashed EVOL, an album that signaled a shift in their sound from their noisy no-wave beginnings to something more melodic that bridged their early years with the genius of Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, and Lee Ranaldo to come (Sister and Daydream Nation). EVOL was a big pivot, and the introduction of their new drummer Steve Shelley. This record was dark, but it also was something else. It was the recording that saved Mike Watt, who had all but given up music after the death of D. Boon, his best friend and cohort in Minutemen. This is the story of EVOL.
👉 Subscribe for More Videos: https://youtube.com/c/AndyFenstermaker/?sub_confirmation=1
✉️ Read the transcript & hear the music on the Poetic Wax Substack: https://poeticwax.substack.com
WATCH NEXT:
✓ Bad Moon Rising and the Dark Side of America: https://youtu.be/64GePt3iRjE
✓ The Censorship of Sister: https://youtu.be/Vf6W0XSv-gk
✓ Sister and Thurston Moore’s Memoir: https://youtu.be/0uUF8ZanaxY
🎥 Poetic Wax Covers Sonic Youth: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLylroYWVYWWXYhWjq7EYgwdem3fhZRTur
Get EVOL on Vinyl 🎧 https://amzn.to/4woG915
MY GEAR:
✅ U-Turn Orbit Turntable: https://amzn.to/4tLTheP
✅ Edifier Speakers: https://amzn.to/4eXfSQV
✅ RØDE PodMic https://amzn.to/4unPKmO
✅ Logitech MX Brio Webcam: https://amzn.to/4uohKXx
✅ Meze Audio 105 Silva Headphones: https://amzn.to/3QIIZgW
Poetic Wax is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Dark Story of Sonic Youth’s EVOL
1:42 Crossroads in the Underground
3:03 Forging the Lineup with Studio Sparks
4:32 Whispers and Explosions
8:15 The Tragic Death of D Boon
9:46 Car Crashes, Firecrackers, and the Long Road Back
12:55 The Reckoning of Mike Watt
14:16 Ripples Across Decades
#sonicyouth #evol #thurstonmoore #kimgordon #leeranaldo #steveshelley #mikewatt #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
@eyesonmars11
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Do we still have to pretend this music is listenable and the members cool? Asking for a friend.
@dirkjanvv
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Evol sounds actually quite the same as bad moon rising. Sister is different and marks a different direction
@ktcaZ-fs-bv7gv
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Millennial Hipster ?
@patrickthompson9022
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
why do music critics all talk alike. same voice – same cadence. I feel like I have heard this voice a dozen times before.
@earforenglish5867
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Evol, Bad Moon Rising, and Confusion is Sex, and Sister are the peak. Daydream Nation is wildly overrated, and after that…..meh…just going through the motions.
@Luc_c_73
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
this video is so peak
@ofmu1899
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
EVOL
DAYDREAM NATION
GOO
My fave 3
In an excellent catalog
@YesNo-zg3tl
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Like many bands from those days, I just liked them because they were artsy and experimental and loud while occasionally finding expression for some suppressed emotion of a 20 year old kid who was me then in the early 90s.
@werdna3891
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
The Minutemen weren't in the van that ended up killing D. Boon while he was laying down in the back. He was the only member of the band in the van at that time. He was in the back while his girlfriend drove
@jacksheltohn77
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Its " eee – vahl "
@mikehemens9359
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
I think thrasher was a psy-op and I think this band and other bands were a part of that wave.
@MrkStbngtn
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
The song 'evil' by interpol is better than anything minutemen released
@MrkStbngtn
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
I hear viv luvva bitta drty
@MrkStbngtn
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
There apology to nardwuar will never be accepted despite the great especially on this record….even tho I just prefer goo
@unusualpond
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
You are cute
@redbirdsaraceno
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
cool some one is posting about early sonic youth albums . gotta be in the mood now but i used to listen to their early works over and over for months on end . really cool at night preferably with a cool city view out your window or just lying in bed in the dark.
@SmallvillenerdTwo
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
Genuinely my pick for the most overrated band of all time.
@runglerhz5590
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
That's a very niche way of pronouncing Glen Branca's name 🤣
@garybungo2949
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
I bought evol in the early 2000s as I was getting into sonic youth (I'm 35) having just seen them on the tour with wilco and then again on the sonic nurse tour. Got daydream nation after falling in love at first listen with "teenage riot" and moved backwards. EVOL stood out immediately. Anyway the cd (reissue?) I had had really great liner notes for each song. I remember "expressway to yr skull" (noted on the back of the album sleeve as "Madonna, Sean, and me" and in the liner notes as "the crucifixion of Sean penn") was talked about as being about "being really really really close to someone, almost inside of them. Kinda like Charles manson" remember that to this day. Wish I still had my cd and record collections. All went in the hole in my arm unfortunately. That sucker ate me out of house and home, literally. Some records had fabulous liner notes and art and stuff I loved digging into and as far as I know you can't find a lot of that stuff online.
@garybungo2949
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
How could you have skipped "star power"? One of the most defining cuts on that album. The first three tracks on that record are just perfect. Tom violence is arresting and immediately demands your attention, then down into the brilliantly bleak and sexy encounter with a stranger in "shadow of a doubt" with kims whispered vocals ("you kill him and I'll kill her") doing hitchcock proud with the way the sexual tension builds until you wake up in a cold sweat in an empty bed, lover long gone. Then "starpower" comes in with that earworm of a riff and melody and "evol" is off and running again. Probably the most "pop" song on the record, which is one of the things sonic youth does best. Mixing the sinister and and dissonant with elements of trashy American pop culture bubblegum. And as catchy as it is "starpower" maintains that unmistakable darkness which runs through the entire record. The way those first 3 songs sound in that order are a great example of how important dynamics of mood, feel, and emotions that certain songs represent are as important as the notes themselves (and sometimes moreso). A great album should have peaks and valleys like any great movie, story, book ect. There are a million ways to do it. This is a fine example. (Whole record is really great and expressway to yr skull being the perfect closer) Anyway. Yeah. You can't talk about "evol" and leave out "starpower". And maybe this is just petty but the way you talk the rhythm and cadence in how you present your information is extremely difficult to watch. I'm not sure what it is exactly but it seems forced and very unnatural. Syncopated with the hand gesture and always using 2 adjectives to describe a sound it's very repetitive a You have great taste in music I just can't handle the presentation. But then again I'm just some prick on the Internet with a chip on his shoulder that shows itself too much sometimes. Take it with a grain of salt. Cheers
@darylcumming7119
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
I used owned a cassette of EVOL.
@HABIRU01
May 9, 2026 at 7:57 pm
I am in love with this story
Comments are closed.