Exploring Kim Gordon’s music outside of Sonic Youth
Kim Gordon rose to prominence as a founding member of Sonic Youth, a group that emerged from New York’s no-wave scene before becoming the champions of abrasive, experimental noise rock. By the end of the 1980s, Sonic Youth had achieved significant acclaim in the alternative rock genre, inspiring bands such as Nirvana, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and countless others. The following decade saw the group gain further mainstream recognition thanks to commercially successful records such as Goo and Dirty.
Amongst a landscape of male-dominated alternative rock outfits, Sonic Youth stood out due to Gordon’s uncompromising presence. When it was her turn to provide vocals and lyrics, the bassist typically explored feminist themes, attacking male chauvinism with a growling snarl or challenging a preconceived perception of womanhood.
When talking to The Guardian, Gordon explained that she has always been required to deal with the music industry’s sexism, but she doesn’t let that stop her from achieving what she is capable of. She said: “[The music press] would then go home and write cruel, ageist, sexist things. I assumed it was because they were terrified of women, […] I refused to play the game.”
Alongside Sonic Youth, Gordon has engaged in many other musical projects, including a solo career, additional bands, and multiple collaborative records. Gordon’s rich discography demonstrates her neverending talent for experimentation, unafraid to create unorthodox-sounding records, regardless of commercial appeal. In fact, many of Gordon’s additional musical projects have gone completely under the radar.
Kim Gordon’s solo career
In 2019, Gordon released her debut solo album, No Home Record, inspired by Chantal Akerman’s documentary, No Home Movie. Somehow, this was Gordon’s first solo effort after decades of being a musician, yet the wait was certainly worth it. She weaves hip-hop beats with her usual abrasiveness, creating a unique dichotomy between the two sounds that are instantly irresistible. Tracks such as ‘Murdered Out’ and ‘Hungry Baby’ pound with immediacy, whereas tracks such as ‘Cookie Butter’ and ‘Paprika Pony’ are like nothing Gordon has ever made before – yet they are some of her most unforgettable moments.
Discussing the album, Gordon told Vogue: “I did want to do things with beats, but obviously not a hip-hop record because that would be just…weird. Because of the kind of singer I am, or the non-singer-singer. I work with space and rhythm and texture and dynamics, so I guess that’s why I’m drawn to rap artists, in a way.”
Free Kitten
Gordon teamed up with Julia Cafritz from Pussy Galore to form Free Kitten in 1992 before recruiting Boredoms’ Yoshimi P-We and Pavement’s Mark Ibold. In Gordon’s essay, ‘Music on the Internet Has No Context’, from This Woman’s Work, she explained how Free Kitten “started on a whim to counteract the overindulgent white male free improv scene at CBGB Saturday afternoon matinees. It was all in good fun!” The band released their debut record, Nice Ass, in 1995, which featured tongue-in-cheek song titles such as ‘Harvest Spoon’ and ‘Revlon Liberation Orchestra’.
They regrouped in 1997 for Sentimental Education before releasing Inherit (without Ibold) in 2008. Free Kitten’s work received mixed reviews from critics due to its light-heartedness and experimental nature. However, Cafritz explained to Village Voice, “I think partly back then, our main lives, our main jobs and gigs were darker, so Free Kitten was an opportunity to make light.”
Body/Head
With Bill Nace, Gordon formed the abstract noise duo Body/Head in 2011. The pair, who experiment with their electric guitars to create emotive pieces, have released two EPs, two LPs, and a live album thus far, most recently sharing The Switch in 2018. Talking to The Quietus, Gordon explained how the band came to fruition: “We were just hanging out a lot, and our friend Dennis Typhus asked me to do a compilation of different people covering the song ‘Fever’, and I asked Bill if he wanted to play with me on that. I think that was how it started.”
Most of Body/Head’s work is improvised, with Gordon elucidating, “Even though we’re improvising, we think of it as a band. These are our ideas of what a song is. And it’s more, maybe, pushed out to the limit than what other people think a song is.”
Glitterbust
You must expect the unexpected when it comes to Gordon’s musical collaborations. With that, she formed Glitterbust with surfer/musician Alex Knost in 2016, a project that bears a mere 52 monthly listeners on Spotify. Their five-track self-titled record features droning, atmospheric guitars that offer a slightly ominous echo. Vocals are sparse; instead, the pair allow their instruments to drive forward emotion.
Gordon and Knost have revealed little about how the project came about, but if you’re a fan of Gordon’s work or are interested in largely instrumental and emotive ambient rock, Glitterbust is worth a listen.
Other collaborations
Alongside these projects, Gordon has collaborated with plenty more artists to create singles and records – even working with Moore and their then-11-year-old daughter Coco to form an endearing EP, Noise Hello Kitty, in 2005. On Sonic Youth’s own record label, Gordon released Musical Perspectives (SYR5), also known as Olive’s Horn, with DJ Olive and Ikue Mori in 2000, featuring abstract, ambient pieces that often utilised ambiguous, bizarre lyrics. In 2012, Gordon partnered with Moore and Yoko Ono to release the avant-garde record Yokokimthurston.
Most recently, Gordon made 2022’s No Issue with Loren Connors, the legendary experimental blues musician. There’s plenty more music out there with Gordon’s name attached, although you’ll have trouble finding online recordings of some of it, such as her ballet score – Music for Inversions. One thing is clear: Gordon is a prolific musician and one of the most influential figures of her generation. Gordon’s creative output has never slowed down, whether she’s making droning instrumental pieces or hip-hop-inspired anthems.
