5/10

While fans of Thurston Moore and his band Sonic Youth will be expecting a certain sound and direction from this latest solo release, this new record holds much more significance than it first appears. While it is his fourth solo album of his career, it is also the first since his split from wife and band member Kim Gordon, as well as the disbandment of Sonic Youth. So for some, you would expect a certain level of angst and despair to come flooding out of this album but it seems like Moore has chosen to direct himself onto a far more solemn path.

With the help of former bandmate Steve Shelley on drums and My Bloody Valentine and Primal Scream bassist Debbie Googe, 'The Best Day' comes across as more of an experiment in the progressive sound of grunge music. Despite only eight tracks long, the album clocks in at an impressive 50 minutes in length and allows Moore to really stretch his sound out and work on a far more focused angle. However, despite the albums intentions, the tracks never really go anywhere and can usually become quite tiresome after a while. So rather than create a progressive sound, it is more like an album that goes round in circles.

Despite it's clear flaws and lack of variety, it still has some very engaging moments and given his personal life of late, a very focused release that is clearly an outlet for his own troubles. Fans of Sonic Youth will probably enjoy this more than others, but at least he can still produce a decent record.