“A record replete with juicy supersonic songs" is how Thurston Moore describes this first album in Sonic Youth’s deal with indie label Matador Records. The record is the first full studio album from the band since Rather Ripped came out on Geffen in 2006, and Moore told Rolling Stone that “it feels great” to be freed from the shackles of the major label system. “The last four or five records we did were just so compromised by that situation,” he says. “But that’s the way it goes.” In the hiatus between albums Sonic Youth has reactivated its SYR imprint, releasing a notable live recording in 2008 titled Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth, which featured contributions from Merzbow and Jim O'Rourke.