Following the dissolution of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore's 27-year marriage in late 2011, Sonic Youth's continuation hung in uncertainty. Although the group never issued a formal disbandment statement, activity ceased without any announced recordings or performances. By spring 2012 Moore had formed Chelsea Light Moving, enlisting guitarist Keith Wood of Hush Arbors, bassist and violinist Samara Lubelski, and drummer John Moloney of Sunburned Hand of the Man, with Moore himself handling guitar, vocals, and songwriting. The quartet's sound occupied much the same ground as Sonic Youth's later recordings, marked by abrasive guitar textures, tightly wound dynamics, and Moore's characteristically esoteric, counterculture-fixated lyrics. Several tracks appeared online throughout the summer, and the group soon began occasional live appearances. Their self-titled debut album arrived in 2013 via Matador Records, the same imprint that had issued Sonic Youth's final recordings before the group's indefinite pause.
