- Yo La Tengo are a group with a deep history. The first time I heard them was when they covered the Sun Ra epic Nuclear War: a sprawling seven-plus-minute polemic in the form of repetitive expletives sung by children. That was in 2002, so it's been a while since I've checked in with the group that have been dubbed "the quintessential critics band". I guess what I'm saying is these guys don't hold back, and don't shy away from seeing themselves as a serious edifice of the musical canon.
You Are Here is a spacious and unambitious opener, setting up a mellow tone. We're a little bit folksy, a little bit indie, and definitely gentle. Shades of Blue continues in a similar vein: a Simon & Garfunkel harmonised vocal-hook and unashamedly '70's soundtrack production styling, reverbed-out tambourines and reversed guitars, the flower-child vibes are out in force. It feels like the YLT fans out there are definitely going to get what they came for out of this record, but will it draw in a new generation of fans?
For You Too cranks the intensity up for a spell with a driven distorted bassline, but watery guitar arpeggios and lilting vocals soften the tone back down again. Even the moment of feedback at the tracks closing feels kinda forced. By turns "producerly" and introspective, There's a Riot Going On is clearly, intentionally, anything but riotous. This is a sound that lives somewhere on the sleepier side of Cowboy Junkies. Dream Dream Away takes a sidestep into purely ambient soundscape for its first three minutes and here we've reached the washy ambient middle stretch of the album, as Shortwave lumbers through nearly six minutes of field recordings processed over feedback and walls of noise. If anything it's probably my favourite part of the record. Out of the Pool provides a rare bright spot of groove that momentarily lifts this record out of the overcast autumnal doldrums it appears to inhabit, and there's a blissful injection of Serge Gainsbourg-cool as a reward for sticking with this album to the end.. "exit stage left" intones lead singer Ira Kaplan...buddy, I'm ready.
There's a kind of ultimate "sunday-morning-coming-down" texture to this album that might make it truly perfect for some occasions. Still, I can't help feeling that the band that got a 9.7 from PitchFork and made sweary covers of free-jazz had a bit more punch.
- Kieran Ruffles.