CD: "Rather Ripped" by Sonic Youth; Geffen Records

Released: June 13

Style: Rock

When the term "college rock" is mentioned in conversation, Sonic Youth is likely the first band that comes to mind. The New York City-based band has been around since the early 1980s, its noisy, dissonant rock labeled "no wave" by many.

The band has gotten older, and a great deal of its bratty edge has worn off. It was this edge that gave the band its early signature sound, and also gave the world "Day-dream Nation" and "Goo," consid-ered by many to be classic albums.

Sonic Youth's latest album, "Rather Ripped," is the result of a gradual shift in the band's sound. The album kicks off with "Reena," which features a drum line that drives the song along, backed by guitars that seem to be pushing their very limits. Sonic Youth has always been hailed for doing unique things with guitars. They use unorthodox tunings and play their guitars with drumsticks — and these tools are all in use here. Kim Gordon's vocals are especially beautiful, and the song's frantic ending is amazing.

The next song, "Incinerate," is a favorite of mine. The guitars manage to be both dreamy and crisp, and the melodic guitar line is one of the more memorable in Sonic Youth history. Thurston Moore's delivery is also very sincere on "Incinerate" — when the song kicks up, Moore keeps everything in check with his singing. The solos use distortion and volume very tastefully, and, as a result, "Incinerate" comes off as one of the album's shining moments.

The old and new Sonic Youth overlap on "Do You Believe in Rapture." The song begins softly, and Moore's crooning of "Do you believe in sweet sensation/do you be-lieve in second chance/do you believe in rapture, babe?" sounds as if he were singing a lullaby to a newborn. Then the song is punctuated by signature Sonic Youth guitar noise before the clear, no-nonsense guitars cut back into the mix. "Do You Believe in Rapture" may be the band's most beautiful song since its 20-minute epic "The Diamond Sea," and at only 3 minutes, it may be more digestible.

It may sound as if I prefer the softer Sonic Youth to the more brash Sonic Youth of old, but that is not so. The band is aging wonderfully and realizes that to stay relevant, it must change its sound and do more things. But they are careful not to abandon everything that made them who they are.

Maybe they have mortgages and families, and they can't pretend to be artsy college students forever. Maybe they turned down their amps because they were tired of their neighbor's complaints, or maybe their hearing is starting to go.

Regardless of what has led them to a softer, more plaintive musical approach, I am grateful. It is so easy for bands to be loud, but it is incredibly difficult — nearly impossible — to tastefully use loud snatches of feedback and guitar noise in slower, quieter songs, but this is exactly what Sonic Youth does on "Rather Ripped."

If this is what turning 45 sounds like, I'm not afraid of it anymore. But the day the band changes its name to Sonic Octogenarians, all bets are off.

Joshua Masayoshi Huff, a graduate of Moanalua High School, attends George Washington University in Washington, D.C.