Sonic Youth › Similar Artists

Thurston Moore - 100% match to Sonic Youth

Ciccone Youth - 94% match to Sonic Youth

A satirical offshoot from New York rock innovators Sonic Youth, Ciccone Youth comprise essentially the same personnel: Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals), Lee Ranaldo (guitar), plus various drummers and other collaborators. The band had long been fascinated by the impact Madonna was having on a generation. Moore had previously mounted a photo of the arti Read more

My Bloody Valentine - 45% match to Sonic Youth

It took several years for My Bloody Valentine to capture their groundbreaking hybrid of ethereal melodies and studio-orientated, discordant sounds that proved so influential on the independent scene of the late 80s. Their roots lay in Dublin, Eire, where guitarist Kevin Shields (21 May 1963, Queens, New York City, New York, USA) joined drummer Colm O’Ciosoig (b. 31 Octo Read more

Dinosaur Jr. - 43% match to Sonic Youth

This uncompromising alternative rock band from the university town of Amherst, Massachusetts, USA, was originally called simply Dinosaur. Their musical onslaught eventually dragged them, alongside the Pixies, into the rock mainstream of the late 80s.Both J. Mascis (10 December 1965, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; vocals/guitar) and Lou Barlow (b. Louis Read more

Mudhoney - 40% match to Sonic Youth

Mudhoney, forged from a host of hobbyist bands, could lay claim to the accolade ‘godfathers of grunge’ more legitimately than most - whether or not they desired that title. The band, named after a movie by cult US film director Russ Meyer, was formed in Seattle at the start of 1988 by Mark Arm (Mark Thomas McLaughlin, 21 February 1962, California, USA; vocals), Ste Read more

Pavement - 33% match to Sonic Youth

Darlings of the 90s US independent scene, Pavement were formed in 1989 in Stockton, California, USA, by college drop-outs Stephen Malkmus (30 May 1966, Santa Monica, California, USA; vocals/guitar) and Scott ‘Spiral Stairs’ Kannberg (guitar). Later they extended to a five-piece by adding Gary Young (b. 3 May 1954, Mamaroneck, New York, USA; percussion), a venerable Read more

Sebadoh - 30% match to Sonic Youth

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, Sebadoh are led by Lou Barlow (Louis Knox Barlow, 17 July 1966, Dayton, Ohio, USA; vocals/guitar). Before his well-publicized partnership with J. Mascis in Dinosaur Jr, Barlow had also played guitar to Mascis’ drums in primal Boston hardcore group Deep Wound. However, as Dinosaur Jr worked their way out of the alternative/college roc Read more

The Breeders - 28% match to Sonic Youth

Restless with her subordinate role in Boston, USA guitar band Pixies, bass player Kim Deal (Kimberly Ann Deal, 10 June 1961, Dayton, Ohio, USA; guitar, vocals, synthesizers) forged this spin-off project with Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly (b. 14 July 1966, Newport, Rhode Island, USA). The name Breeders, a derogatory term used by homosexuals to describe heterosexuals, Read more

Teenage Jesus and The Jerks - 26% match to Sonic Youth

The 17-year-old Lydia Lunch (Lydia Koch, 1959, Rochester, New York, USA) formed Teenage Jesus And The Jerks in the UK during 1976 to channel her feelings of contempt towards a complacent music industry, but almost immediately clashed with founder members James Chance (aka James White) and Reck, both of whom left before any recordings were completed. Chance later formed the C Read more

The Velvet Underground - 25% match to Sonic Youth

The antithesis of late-60s west coast love and peace, New York, USA’s the Velvet Underground portrayed a darker side to that era’s hedonism. Their pulsating drive married with intellectual precision and resulted in one of rock’s most innovative and lasting catalogues. Lou Reed (Lewis Allen Rabinowitz, 2 March 1942, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA; guita Read more

Yo La Tengo - 25% match to Sonic Youth

This New Jersey, USA-based band has crafted a formidable reputation within the US alternative rock community with their succulent, Velvet Underground -inspired melodicism. Comprising the central husband and wife duo of Ira Kaplan (vocals/guitar) and Georgia Hubley (drums/vocals), plus various associates including regular member James McNew (bass), the band has built a strong re Read more

Fugazi - 24% match to Sonic Youth

The thinking person’s modern hardcore band, and vocalist/guitarist Ian MacKaye’s most permanent institution since his Minor Threat days. More so than Henry Rollins and, probably, Jello Biafra, Fugazi continued and expanded on the arguments of their antecedents, keeping down album and door prices, shunning mainstream press interviews, and maintaining a commitment to al Read more

Babes in Toyland - 23% match to Sonic Youth

This hardcore rock trio spearheaded a new wave of US female bands at the turn of the 90s. Their origins can be traced back to 1987, when Kat Bjelland (Katherine Bjelland, 8 December 1963, Salem, Oregon, USA; vocals/guitar) moved to Minneapolis. Previously, she had played in a band, Sugar Baby Doll, with Courtney Love (later of Hole) and Jennifer Finch (later of L7) in San Fr Read more

The Jesus And Mary Chain - 23% match to Sonic Youth

Glenn Branca - 22% match to Sonic Youth

1948, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. This avant garde composer and musician emerged from New York’s no-wave movement of the 70s, where he had been a member of the influential Theoretical Girls and the Static. Although several contemporaries experimented with punk and deconstructed jazz, this artist advanced symphonies for guitar, wherein specially developed instruments Read more