You need to have an understanding of where the band is coming from. The 70s and very early 80s saw artists and art-school types flock to a rough part of lower Manhattan that was a very inexpensive to live. Bands there were started by people who were not necessarily musicians but who were artists expressing themselves through music, essentially performance art (think no-wave). The mindset was that rather than copy musical styles that were already done, it became "what is possible music-wise?"
Now think of the influences of no-wave - both style-wise and philosophically what-is-possible-wise, think of the dissonance and dystopian sounds coming from Swans, think of the energy and rawness of hardcore like Minor Threat, then think of the imagination and creativity of a guitarist like Glenn Branca. Now imagine what already talented guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo could do with extremely open minds and such a wide range of influences. What kind of sounds could they coax out of their guitars?
This is an analog band, particularly at the beginning. You gotta listen on vinyl to 'get' it. Start with Confusion is Sex. It was released on Branca's Neutral label.
Disclaimer: I like no-wave, Minor Threat and Swans. You may not. You may not, and you may not enjoy Sonic Youth. And that's okay!