1998

1998-05-12

United States

The first album recorded at Echo Canyon (Sonic Youth's personal studio from 1996-2006), and built with the money they had made at the 1995 Lollapalooza festival. Since the band had an unlimited amount of time to work in their studio, the album features numerous lengthy and improvisational tracks that were developed unevenly. The span of nearly three years between Washing Machine and A Thousand Leaves also represented the longest gap between studio albums in Sonic Youth's career at the time. Thurston Moore explained that the band needed a break, noting that they had been touring non-stop for 16 years. He said, "We're having children, we're getting older, let's just cool out a little bit and build this workshop, and go that way, work that route. In many ways this album marks the start of what would be the final incarnation of the band Sonic Youth, tonally, creatively and otherwise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thousand_Leaves