By Max Stewart

Kim Gordon is a total badass. The Sonic Youth founding member always has a calm, cool and collected on-stage vibe while always maintaining a punk rock edge. Seeing her perform at Atlanta’s Terminal West reestablished how intriguing of a musician she is and how much quality art she still has to give to the world at 71. She has also surrounded herself with some top tier musicians while on the road including Madi Vogt on drums, Sarah Register on guitar, and Camilla Charlesworth on bass.

Gordon has a voice that just draws you in, making listeners feel like we’re all in on a secret. And her subtle yet striking delivery still hits the mark in concert just as well as it did in the 80s and 90s. Gordon’s solo sound can be described as dissonant yet grounded in a way that is contemporary and unique. And the songs feel liberating as they are a departure from anything that Sonic Youth would have released, yet they still maintain her signature touch. Whether its hip hop beats, industrial sythns or ambient soundscapes, the vibe is not forced and feels perfectly Kim Gordon. In Atlanta, she played the majority of tunes from her superb new album, The Collective (including “Bye Bye” and “I’m a Man”), and some selections from her 2019 release, No Home Record.

It is refreshing to see an artist that has the accolades and credibility as one of the founding members of ‘alt-rock’ not have a solo tour that is just a 30th anniversary of the big album or some nostalgia fest. Instead, Gordon is challenging herself and her audience into new sonic territories with her solo releases, proving once and for all that she is the queen of cool artistry.