We’ve heard “Benediction,” the Sea Change-esque opening cut off Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts, the Sonic Youth singer/guitarist’s new Beck-produced solo LP. “Circulation,” a heavier, acoustic-driven tune bolstered by a dissonant string arrangement that makes for a haunting centerpiece to the record soon followed. The latter taste is the album’s best cut, I’d say, but today you can decide for yourself by streaming the full 9-track effort over at NPR, Guardian, or below.

Following our first taste of the opening track, “Benediction,” off Thurston Moore’s forthcoming solo LP, Demolished Thoughts, comes the Beck-produced LP’s latest preview: “Circulation,” a violin, harp and acoustic guitar-driven tune that boasts a stunning concoction of dissonant beauty, now streaming on Thurston’s official Facebook page in exchange for a “Like” or below.

(Note: To play the song on Facebook, you must uncheck “Secure Browsing.”)

Our first taste of Demolished Thoughts, the forthcoming Beck-produced solo LP from Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, arrived today as a premiere stream on NPR.org in all its nuanced, gorgeously violin-adorned glory. “Whisper ‘I love you’ one thousand times into his ear,” Moore coos in the decidedly subdued 5-minute ode that shuffles along with sensitive yet poetic lyrics like a modern-day “Pale Blue Eyes” or — for obvious reasons — Sea Change cut. After a few listens, it’s no surprise that Thurston’s lovelorn side is just as poignant as the abrasive feedback-driven rock pioneering he’s most famous for, but what really brings this cut home for me are the violin flourishes. Can’t wait to hear the full record, especially the contributions from harpist Mary Lattimore. Give it a spin here or below.

We’ve been anticipating the release of Thurston Moore’s Beck-produced LP, once titled Benediction, now awesomely dubbed Demolished Thoughts (which, as Matablog informs us, was taken from a lyric off The Faith’s “It’s Time”), and now the official announcement is here: Matador Records will release Moore’s 4th solo album on May 24, preceded by a pre-release MP3 and live performances.

As previously reported, harpist Mary Lattimore and violinist Samara Lubelski collaborated with Moore on the recordings, in addition to guest performers bassist Bram Inscore, drummer Joey Waronker (of the great Thom Yorke supergroup Atoms for Peace), and Beck himself. Based on the few solo-acoustic live performances I’ve seen from Moore, not to mention Beck(!), this record should be incredible. We’ll keep you posted with further details as they arrive.

Walter Sear, the great engineer and founder of one of the best analog-dedicated studios in the world, Sear Sound, passed away last year, leaving behind an inimitable legacy of amazing recordings and innovations. The studio he started, however, is still up and running with a number of his former collaborators putting tunes to tape that are sure to keep his noteworthy reputation intact for many years. Earlier this week, in fact, Sonic Scoop proved their name was entirely accurate by getting the scoop on 4 intriguing projects in the works at NYC’s Sear Sound as of late. A few standouts:

Two interesting updates from Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore arrived this evening, the first being a new title for his forthcoming Beck-produced solo LP, and the latter (a 24B exclusive): Moore’s clarification of the response he offered in an interview with a Spanish newspaper to Steve Albini’s latest rant.

As previously reported, Beck produced Moore’s next solo album, which features collaborations with harpist Mary Lattimore and violinist Samara Lubelski. We now know, however, that the LP no longer dons the divine-aspiring title of Benediction, as it was revealed today that Demolished Thoughts will reach our ears later this year via Matador Records.

On Tuesday, we mentioned part of a Q&A with El País in which Moore commented on engineer/musician/outspoken “sellout” theorist Steve Albini’s recently stated opinion that Sonic Youth “should be embarrassed about” signing to a major label and “becom[ing] a foot soldier for that culture’s encroachment.” While the article published a quote reading, “Steve has opinions based on a myopic point of view which of course does not extend to the manufacturers of his pants,” Moore himself contacted us today, noting an important (given their Albini feud history) misquote: “I said panties not pants. Lost in translation, Thurston Moore.”

And now for a few links I’ve come across in today’s Web travels…

• Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore reacted to last fall’s Steve Albini rant — in which SY were accused of being “sellouts” — during an interview with El País. Here’s Thurston’s quote (thanks to Kathy Mazzacco): “Steve has opinions based on a myopic point of view which of course does not extend to the manufacturers of his pants.” Update: Thurston just wrote us a note: “I said panties not pants. Lost in translation, Thurston Moore.” Actually, it fits that the article published a misquote, as “panties” makes a lot more sense given their history.
• Jessica Lea Mayfield’s Dan Auerbach-produced sophomore effort, Tell Me, is now streaming in full.
• Kill Rock Stars are celebrating their 20th anniversary by reissuing their inaugural release: an eponymous 1991 compilation featuring early cuts by Nirvana, Courtney Love, Bikini Kill, Melvins, and many more.

Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore has unveiled a few tasty details on his forthcoming album, Benediction, a new solo LP previously mentioned alongside a slew of upcoming SY project updates. Speaking to Philadelphia Weekly, Moore said of the Matador release:

It’s called Benediction, recorded in Southern California at Beck’s home studio with him producing. Beck sings and plays a little bit on it. Samara and Mary both play on it quite extensively and very, very beautifully. Beck really put them through the paces.