Sonic Youth: Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo (vocals, guitar); Kim Gordon (vocals, bass); Steve Shelley (drums). Additional personnel: Walter Sear (programming). Originally released on SST (134). With SISTER, Sonic Youth moved even further from the self-conscious punk rock that marred their first releases, SONIC YOUTH (1982) and CONFUSION IS SEX (1983). Incorporating heavy echo effects--especially on bassist Kim Gordon's vocal turns like "Beauty Lies in the Eye"--and Steve Shelley's propulsive and nuanced drumming, SISTER shows the band refining its signature sound with vocal harmonies and great slabs of rusty guitar. The sound developed by the band here helped shape the course of American independent rock. "Catholic Block" creates fascinating tensions between its various instruments, using an almost hypnotic pulse during the verses, while the bridges devolve into near-freeform experimentation. The distorted foundation of "Cotton Crown" ebbs and flows, laying a base that gives the almost ballad-like song an epic feel that suggest it could go on forever--it is one of the band's best moments. The record concludes with an odd-ball bonus track, "Master-Dik," a bizarre "white-guy" rap from a 12" single that includes a lot of naughty words, in addition to Thurston Moore singing along with a short sample from the Rolling Stones "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." SISTER is a state-of-the-art rock album that shows no signs of aging--a classic.