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Washing Machine is one of their definitive albums. For me it was less of a transitional album and more of a actualization of something they were trying to do for a while at that point. Both Dirty and Jet Set seemed to strive for a certain sound without ever quite reading it. A more modern sound, maybe. A new direction. A poppier sound. But while Dirty was too rock, and EJS was too raw (don't get me wrong, I love both albums), Washing Machine found the balance. And most importantly, it had the full Sonic Youth experience. Instead of "Sonic Youth does alt. rock" it reconnected the band with their swirling, dissonant essence, and the result was "Alt. Rock gets Sonic Youthed."
I think it follows a bit of a pattern. Sort of like how Evol perfected what the band was doing in the early '80s, and made a real definitive statement out of all the sounds and styles they were messing with, Washing Machine did the same with what they were toying with post-Goo. And the result was a seminal album, one that is on a par with their best work.
I've always been more of an ATL guy, but there's no denying Washing Machine. It's hard to swallow, as Sonic Youth should be, but once it sinks in it sounds like it was always perfect.
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