I’m pretty stoked for this. Their last three proper albums (Murray Street, Sonic Nurse, Rather Ripped) have been ace. Thurston Moore told the NME to expect “a record replete with juicy, supersonic songs!” Right then. The Eternal is tentatively scheduled for issue in June on the band’s new record label, Matador (home of Pavement). For those of you who aren’t huge SY fanatics, here’s a brief guide to catch you up:

THE EARLY YEARS (1982-1985): The Sonic Youth EP, Confusion is Sex/Kill Yr Idols and Bad Moon Rising are not for the faint of heart. “Death Valley 69” aside, this material is quite different from anything approaching traditional pop music. Indeed, some songs, such as “Early American” and “Halloween” seem more in tune with the sensibilities of Asian music and 20th-century classical than the band’s early-80s contemporaries in indie-rock. I love this phase, but it’s not for everyone. Recommendation: Bad Moon Rising.

THE CLASSIC ERA (1986-1989): Starting with 1986’s EVOL, Sonic Youth began their ascent to being a world-class rock band. The three albums from this period, EVOL, Sister, and Daydream Nation progressively lean towards more traditional pop structure. My advice: get the lot of them.

DALLIANCE WITH THE BIG-TIME (1990-1994): On their first three major-label albums, Goo, Dirty and Experimental Jet-Set, Trash & No-Star, Sonic Youth were something like an experimental grunge band. Imagine Nirvana and Fugazi’s more outre guitar explorations with less tuneful vocals and you’re near it. Not surprisingly, this era produced the closest thing to a set of hit singles they ever managed (“Kool Thing,” “Sugar Kane” and “Bull in the Heather”). Out of the three, Dirty is my personal favourite, due to a strong showing from Kim, but all three are recommended.

RETRENCHING (1995-2001): Here, Sonic Youth decided to de-emphasise their pop leanings and go more avant-garde, with mixed results. Washing Machine, with its sublime closing track “The Diamond Sea,” is a must-own, A Thousand Leaves is OK but inessential and NYC Ghosts and Flowers is a waste of money.

THE ELDER STATESMEN (2002-present): Sonic Youth have had something of a late career renaissance. Starting with 2002’s Murray Street and going on through 2006’s Rather Ripped, the band began to become more accessible without losing the qualities that made them unique in the first place. Sonic Nurse is my favourite, but this era of SY is perhaps the most rewarding since the late 80’s triad.