Washing Machine is the continuation of Sonic Youth’s 1994 Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star. After the Experimental Jet Set, the band decided to make a hiatus from performing live and focusing on several side projects. Moore and Gordon also had their first child, Coco. According to Moore, their daughter provided a different perspective for the band.

Tantalising overreach, the catchiest hooks this side of Murray Street, and a heaped helping of ‘Kim Power’– Washing Machine is one of Sonic Youth’s more underplayed, but underrated works a b "Sonic Youth". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012 . Retrieved July 14, 2014. Second CD is exclusive material from France Inter recorded at Elysee Montmartre in Paris, France on September 12, 1995. Kot, Greg (September 29, 1995). "Sonic Gold". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 . Retrieved June 26, 2016. The Diamond Sea". Sonicyouth.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012 . Retrieved July 6, 2014.a b "Washing Machine - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014 . Retrieved June 7, 2014. Kot, Greg; Leland, John; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira; Pattyn, Jay. "Sonic Youth". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014 . Retrieved June 7, 2014. Say what you want about Kim, who gives the band substance, and Lee who gives the band consistency and at least one great song an album, Thurston Moore is the heart and soul of this band and gives the band every single ounce of coolness that emanates from The Diamond Sea, and Washing Machine. a b c d e Moon, Tom (October 19, 1995). "Washing Machine". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012 . Retrieved June 7, 2014. Every person on earth has, at some point, wanted to be someone else. We’ve all had one or more of those days – the ones that make you want to drop all of your emotional baggage in a deep, deep lake and abscond to a place where you become an unmeasured quantity; no history, no relationships by which to be defined, no preconceived notions that expose your bullshit and describe you to a T.

This is a bait of a record which is able to hook anyone forever to the heavenly machinery of these noise jacobites. Never before had they combined the poetics of the most immense electricity and the industrial aggression. The refreshing and dream breeze against the unchained tempest. a b c d e f g h "Washing Machine". Sonicyouth.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012 . Retrieved June 7, 2014. This brings us to the obvious question: why would a band at, or near the apex of its powers and prowess, want to become a different entity – and one with no history or expectation? It is a sad fact of life that even a history of achievement and innovation can result in tremendous amounts of pressure, and that even circumstances that are objectively good do not always guard against a profound ennui. Sonic Youth had a desire to escape those burdens even as they were fully coming into their own. Whether the desire was half-joking or half-serious, they saw a need to change things up. Washing Machine gave them the chance to evolve from a band viewed as mostly ‘punk’ to one that was considered mostly ‘indie’ in sound if not in label affiliation.The album was released the following week, after which they embarked on yet another tour in October/November. This time around, the venues were comfortable theatres and clubs, but the set list variation was not affected. While on a 2-day, 3-show stop in NYC, they performed "The Diamond Sea" on another TV show, "The State". The sonic tour wheel did not stop spinning -- an Australian/New Zealand tour in late December took them into the new year, followed by a brief tour of some new territory (Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Phillipines, and Hong Kong) with the Foo Fighters and the Beastie Boys. Less than 2 months later, they were on the road again, for the first real Washing Machine European tour, in March and April. Upon their return home, they made another TV appearance, their first on Late Night w/ Conan O'Brien. They did not, however, play current single "Little Trouble Girl", instead they tore through a furious version of "Junkie's Promise". After 2 more stray shows, they slowed down a bit -- though they did make their first of 3 consecutive annual appearances at the Tibetan Freedom Concert, on June 16th, 1996 in San Francisco. They performed only 4 songs, the inseparable "Bull in the Heather"/"Starfield Road" combo, "Saucer-Like", and a lengthy version of "The Diamond Sea" (which was the standard set closer at virtually every show in '95 and '96). In August '96 they travelled to Hungary and Israel for the first time, and finished this 6-date tour at the Reading Festival in England. After one more show in Spain in November, Sonic Youth's extremely busy 2 years of touring was finished, and the band took a well-deserved break from serious touring in 1997, free to focus on their new studio and a slew of new recordings.

a b c Scott, Grand; Miles, Barry; Morgan, Johnny (October 2008). The Greatest Album Covers of All Time. Collins & Brown. p.196. ISBN 978-1843404811 . Retrieved July 6, 2014. a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Washing Machine – Sonic Youth". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014 . Retrieved June 7, 2014. The final movement begins with the crash and burn guitar chord at the end of Untitled and Skip Tracer sees a wonderful introduction to the great Diamond Sea.

Release

a b "Washing Machine". charts.nz. Archived from the original on September 1, 2019 . Retrieved July 14, 2014. That A Thousand Leaves was void of “classic song ideas” might have fueled some critics’ disdain for it in ’98, but much of the record has aged well in the past 20 years. “Sunday,” an undeniable gem that marries Sonic Youth’s dual tendencies toward melody and experimental spinouts, was an early single, paired with a Macaulay Culkin-starring music video directed by Harmony Korine. “Sunday” also received the commercial radio treatment, its original five minutes chopped to three. The truncated version sadly omits the song’s most interesting passage: a mess of squeals and gasps from Moore’s and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars around the three-minute mark. As their gnarled instruments unspool, Moore deadpans: “With you, Sunday never ends,” just before the lights dim and the song is snuffed out. Jenkins, Mark (October 13, 1995). "Looking Up To Sonic Youth". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 1, 2019 . Retrieved June 4, 2018. a b Ali, Lorraine (September 24, 1995). "Fall Album Roundup". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014 . Retrieved June 7, 2014.