I must say that I really don't feel that this is much of a departure from the last 2 albums; however, I don't view that as a negative. Despite discouraging critics reviews, I happened to like the last two SY albums, especially Sonic Nurse. Rather Ripped seems to be carrying on the feel of the last two albums. When it comes to Sonic Youth, I'm never looking for them to 'break the mold' or 'go back to the days of Goo and Dirty', I'm happy the way things are.Keep 'em comin, guys.