So, from looking at the sidebar, you'll notice that there are already two Sonic Youth entries in this round-up, and with this entry, a solo album from one of its members, it now means there are three albums in this list affiliated with Sonic Youth alone. That should illustrate just how much this band has affected me.
When I first heard this album, I'd already been into SY for a good while and felt it was time to check out some of their solo outings and outlier releases. 'Psychic Hearts' was one of the first solo records from 'Youth members that I picked up and its wonderfully bizarre, off-kilter pop struck an immediate chord.
I've heard some people say that 'Psychic Hearts' sounds like a Sonic Youth record, but I have to disagree. Other than 'Female Cop' and closer 'Elegy for all the Dead Rock Stars', this doesn't really sound like Sonic Youth, though it does lend a more focused ear to what Moore brings to the band. With this album, his unique guitar playing has a different context; the music is considerably less dense, more repetitive, spacious and minimal than a typical Sonic Youth record.
Descriptions of the music aside, this album endeared itself to me for a number of reasons: I liked its streamlined simplicity, the quirky yet sincere lyrics and the beautiful artwork, which introduced me to the world of Rita Ackermann. Finally, I especially love how this album is essentially a love letter to the oft-understated and undervalued feminine aspect of rock n' roll. It is a sentiment that informs the entire album from beginning to end and is one I also share, which perhaps explains why this 'Psychic Hearts' is so special to me as well.
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