Bad Moon Rising is the second studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on March 29, 1985, by Blast First and Homestead Records.

The album is loosely themed around the dark side of America, including references to obsession, insanity, Charles Manson, heavy metal, Satanism, and early European settlers' encounters with Native Americans.

Released to strong reviews from the underground music press, Bad Moon Rising was the band's first album to combine experimental material with transitional pieces and segues.

As Sonic Youth released a number of albums and EPs to increasing critical acclaim, including Confusion Is Sex and Kill Yr. Idols in 1983, several drummers joined and left the band.

The New York press largely ignored Sonic Youth (as well as the noise rock scene in the city), until after a disastrous London debut in October 1983 that actually received rave reviews in British papers Sounds and NME.

[5] The album begins with "Intro", a short instrumental featuring several guitars, described by Michael Azerrad as "a melancholic, meowing slide line playing off a delicate stack of crystalline arpeggios.

[1] "I Love Her All the Time" features extensive prepared guitar by Ranaldo and the use of one chord, with a noise section in the middle;[1] like many of the album's songs, it focuses on texture and rhythm rather than melody.