The yin-yang of Sonic Youth's career has always been a pull toward abstract avant-garde atonalities and a push toward conventional rock 'n' roll songwriting. Essentially, the band has forced rock 'n' roll to accept it as a logical expansion of the genre's definition; in return, it's earned fans who argue over which albums are the essential ones. A Thousand Leaves and NYC Ghosts & Flowers worked near the style of the avant-garde releases on Sonic Youth's own label imprint. Murray Street, with producer Jim O'Rourke officially joining the band as a fifth wheel, is gentler; it's the most accessible the band has been since Washing Machine or, perhaps, Dirty. "Rain on Tin" is a gorgeous, dry mix of guitars weaving without a need to break down into chaos. Lee Ranaldo's "Karen Revisited" has a nearly nostalgic tone before turning into a space jam. "The Empty Page" sounds like an indie-rock pop song from the early '90s. "Plastic Sun" and "Sympathy for the Strawberry" lead with Kim Gordon on vocals, with the nine-minute "Strawberry" best representing SY's signature style and sound.