There are some artists whose every brushstroke, plucked note and keystroke are anxiously awaited by their fervent admirers. Sonic Youth [ tickets ] is such an institution.

"Rather Ripped" yet again exemplifies why Sonic Youth is the Grateful Dead of art-rock. Like those aged hippies of yore, no one does what Sonic Youth does, nor could. Pale imitations yes, but never matched, nor topped.

With the exodus of Jim O'Rourke, the album also finds the band returning to a tight, four-piece unit. It's this essential core that makes the "Sonic Youth" sound so readily apparent and familiar, which is more than evident within the first few notes of the LP's opening track, "Reena." A Kim Gordon vehicle that feels as natural as anything from the band's extensive back-catalog, the track pulls you into the album's world immediately.

With 20-plus albums under their belt, Sonic Youth break no new ground here, but explore and expand on the firm foundation the group has been mining since its NYC No Wave beginnings back in the early 1980s. The more things change, the more the stay the same.