Yo La Tengo Albums (13)
What The Critics Say
Whether or not Yo La Tengo are being tongue in cheek with the title of their 14th album, Popular Songs does find Hoboken's finest embracing pop song structures with a renewed degree of enthusiasm -- this isn't quite the Yo La Tengo "loaded with hits" album, but for a band that's shown an increasing willingness to explore the outer limits of its music in the studio, Popular Songs features nine tunes you can hum along with and sometimes even dance to. Those who got high marks in math will notice that Popular Songs has 12 selections, and as befits a band that covered George McCrae's "You Can Have It All," on the second half of this set YLT take the opportunity to stretch out and invite the spirit for a while -- the total time of the first nine tracks on Popular Songs is roughly the same as the last three, which should tell you something about the album's dual nature. "Periodically Double or Triple" and "If It's True" in the first half are two of the most user-friendly songs this band has recorded in quite some time, the former a playfully funky R&B number with a killer bassline and the latter a slice of sweet uptown soul complete with a Hammond B-3 and a polished string section, while "I'm on My Way" and "All Your Secrets" are low-key but beautifully crafted examples of smart pop for grownups that won't insult your intelligence or your imagination. If "By Two's" and "Here to Fall" reflect YLT's trippier inclinations, the melodies give them a firmer backbone than many of their previous gestures in this direction, and "Nothing to Hide" is a bracing and joyous dose of rock & roll. The first half of the album is smart enough and strong enough that the final three cuts almost seem like a letdown; "More Stars Than There Are in Heaven" is lovely, but sounds like a rehash of the ideas the band worked out so well on And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, and the minimalist acoustic guitar textures of "The Fireside" are almost too fragile to support its 11-minute length. Popular Songs closes with the usual Ira Kaplan guitar freakout; "And the Glitter Is Gone" is a fine plunge into the valley of skronk, with Georgia Hubley and James McNew bashing away with equal fervor and giving this album a typical but rousing finale. But as fine as those nearly 16 minutes of controlled chaos are, it's the first half of Popular Songs that you're more likely to come back to, where by thinking in a small space Yo La Tengo have challenged themselves a bit and beautifully risen to the occasion. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass'
Release Date 9/12/2006
Tracks 15
Label Matador
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What The Critics Say
After the elegant, introspective romantic narratives of And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out and the beautifully crafted but restrained pop textures of Summer Sun, it was hard not to wonder if Yo La Tengo was ever going to turn up the amps and let Ira Kaplan go nuts on guitar again. For more than a few fans "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," the opening cut from YLT's 2006 album I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, will feel like the reassuring sound of a homecoming -- ten minutes of noisy six-string freak-out, with James McNew's thick, malleable basslines and Georgia Hubley's simple but subtly funky drumming providing a rock-solid framework for Kaplan's enthusiastic fret abuse. After the thematic and sonic consistency of their previous two major albums, I Am Not Afraid marks a return to the joyous eclecticism of 1997's I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, though nearly ten years down the road Yo La Tengo sounds noticeably more confident in their embrace of different styles and less hesitant in their technique on this album -- even Kaplan's gloriously unkempt guitar solos start to suggest a certain degree of well-earned professionalism. The songs also sound a shade less playful and more disciplined, though the group's ability to bring their distinct personality to so many different styles attests to their continuing love of this music and the quiet strength of their vision -- the neo-Byrds-ian psychedelia of "The Race Is on Again," the homey horn-punctuated pop of "Beanbag Chair," the plaintive folk-rock on "Black Flowers," the aggressive Farfisa-fueled minimalisms of "The Room Got Heavy," and "Daphina," which suggests a John Fahey track transcribed to piano and then used as the root for a eight-minute exercise in low-key atmospherics, all function on a different level and each one satisfies. What's both engaging and impressive about I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is that, as usual, these 15 songs always end up sounding like Yo La Tengo, whether they're upbeat guitar pop or dense loop-based drones, and if there's a bit less childlike élan here than in the past, there's also an intelligence and joy that confirms Yo La Tengo is still one of the great treasures of American indie rock, and they haven't run out of ideas or the desire to make them flesh in the studio just yet. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Three years after 2000's brilliant And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, Yo La Tengo returns with Summer Sun, an album that's as settled and smooth as the previous one was inventive and eclectic. Musically, Summer Sun continues the band's progression away from intricate, guitar-based pop both loud and soft and toward an arguably more sophisticated sound. This move resulted in masterpieces like I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, which balanced their roots and their ambitions perfectly; on Summer Sun, it feels a little bit like a retreat. This time around, the post-rock, Krautrock, and jazz influences the band introduced on I Can Hear the Heart and perfected on And Then Nothing dominate Summer Sun, giving it a hushed, polished feel. Sometimes, this approach works, as on the lovely opener "Beach Party Tonight," which sounds appropriately warm and full of possibilities, and "Tiny Birds," a droning, spiralling track that sounds a bit like a fusion of post-rock and Pet Sounds. However, the fusion-inspired instrumental "Georga Vs. Yo La Tengo" and the jammy, ten-minute "Let's Be Still" veer dangerously close to noodling and bloat the album's length to over an hour; unfortunately, there's not quite an hour's worth of interesting music here. Much of this is due to Summer Sun's arrangements and productions: tracks like "How to Make a Baby Elephant Float" and "Don't Have to Be So Sad" are based on lighter-than-air guitars, drums, and synths and topped with whispery vocals. Individually, their understated prettiness works well, but collectively, they're slightly too understated for their own good. When the band does get a little livelier, they deliver some memorable moments, such as the percolating "Little Eyes"; the cute, poppy "The Season of the Shark"; and "Today Is the Day," a Georgia Hubley song that's nearly as gorgeous as "Shadows" or "Nowhere Near." A little more variety in volume and tempo could've made this album great instead of pretty good; for the first time in years, Yo La Tengo doesn't break out the feedback and distortion anywhere on an album. Summer Sun is so mellow and pretty that it feels uncharitable to call it one of their weakest albums in recent memory; many bands would kill to make music this accomplished. But, even though Yo La Tengo can still run circles around other groups even when they're running in place, compared to their best work Summer Sun is merely pleasant. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'The Sounds of the Sounds of Science'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 8
Label Egon
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
No stranger to the instrumental form, Yo La Tengo has worked a number of vocal-less tracks into their records as interludes or otherwise. Here, though, they take the idea to another level and compose and score nine tracks for performance in front of French filmmaker Jean Painleve's underwater documentaries and shorts. These were then debuted at the San Francisco Film Festival in April 2001. The result of this studio-recorded CD is still quite cinematic. The movements are moody and textural; the direction is sometimes drastic and dramatic and at others plotting and spinning softly, all the while maintaining an underwater feel without resorting to sound effects or things of that sort. Instead, the impressions are given by liquid guitar playing that is at times quite trembly and all the while bouncing off of bubbling basslines. This is a nice treat for Yo La Tengo fans and also admirers of the Boxhead Ensemble's similar cinematic movements. ~ Jack LV Isles, All Music Guide
'And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out'
Release Date 2/22/2000
Tracks 13
Label Matador
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
After years as one of indie rock's standard-bearing groups, Yo La Tengo surpasses itself with And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. A culturally literate, emotionally rich album, on songs like "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House," "The Crying of Lot G," and "The Last Days of Disco," it alludes to The Simpsons, enigmatic author Thomas Pynchon and independent films while exploring the comforting, confining, complex aspects of relationships. "Our Way to Fall" sets Ira Kaplan's recollection of falling in love to a dreamy, down-to-earth backdrop of gently brushed drums, luminous organs and vibes; "The Crying of Lot G" transforms the syrupy sweetness of '50s ballads into a monologue about a relationship's shortcomings. "Madeline"'s shimmery indie bossa-nova and the countrified ballad "Tears Are in Your Eyes" showcase Georgia Hubley's buttery, empathetic voice; her singing makes these vignettes universal as well as personal. Like mature indie rock records such as Pavement's Terror Twilight and Jim O'Rourke's Eureka, And Then Nothing... favors mellow songwriting, detailed arrangements, and eclectic influences, such as the Silver Apples-like drum machines and doo wop backing vocals that adorn many of the songs. The wintry, implosive "Everyday" uses both of these elements, along with a plaintive guitar and hushed, hypnotic vocals, to begin the album on a surprisingly somber note. Similarly, the off-kilter beats, odd piano bursts, and harmonies on "Saturday" add to the song's awkward, uneasy beauty. Finally, nine songs into the album, Yo La Tengo breaks out the whammy and feedback action on "Cherry Chapstick," their most incandescent song since "Sugarcube." Easily one of 2000's most accomplished albums, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out isn't as immediate as some of the group's earlier work, but it's just as enduring, proving that Yo La Tengo is the perfect band to grow old with. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One'
Release Date 4/22/1997
Tracks 16
Label Matador
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Functioning as a virtual catalog of mid-'90s indie rock trends, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is an astonishing tour de force from Yo La Tengo, establishing their deep talents as songwriters and musicians. Although the album may run a little long for some tastes, there are very few throwaways on the record -- even the shoegazer cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" is a revelatory gem. But what truly impresses is the way the songs, ranging from hypnotically droning instrumentals to tightly written and catchy pop songs, hold together to form what is arguably Yo La Tengo's finest and most coherent album to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After the noisy but dream-like drift of Painful, Electr-O-Pura found Yo La Tengo in livelier and more outwardly enthusiastic form; while they had hardly abandoned their more subdued and contemplative side, as evidenced by the lovely "The Hour Grows Late" and "Pablo and Andrea," they seemed eager to once again explore the grittier textures they'd unearthed on President Yo La Tengo and May I Sing With Me with tunes like the gleefully manic "False Ending" and the bizarre horn-blasted "Attack on Love." Yo La Tengo also served up one of the most perfectly realized pop tunes in their repertoire with "Tom Courtenay" (which not only name checks the Beatles, but boasts a tune the Fab Four would have been happy to come up with themselves), and revisited the concept of the noisy groove jam (which they pioneered on "The Evil That Men Do (Pablo's Version)") with the acetone-powered "False Alarm" and the joyous "Blue Line Swinger." Throughout, Ira Kaplan's simple but forceful guitar lines, Georgia Hubley's steady, subtly inventive drumming, and James McNew's solid, supportive bass add up to a group that prizes intelligence and imagination over flash, and makes it work over and over. Few bands have consistently better ideas than Yo La Tengo, and they make 14 of them work like a charm on Electr-O-Pura. (By the way, those incongruous comments about the songs were lifted from an obscure book on the Blues Project, and don't trust those timings on the back cover -- they're deliberately inaccurate.) ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Anyone who encountered Yo La Tengo's first album, Ride the Tiger, upon its original release in 1986 can be forgiven if they didn't immediately recognize that the band would become one of the most consistently interesting American acts of the next 15 years. Yo La Tengo's debut is a decidedly modest affair, and Ira Kaplan often sounds as if he's still finding his feet as a singer and guitarist, though Dave Schramm does more than his share to take up the slack (in his liner essay for the 1993 reissue of Ride the Tiger, Kaplan went so far as to write that "Dave's guitar playing is inarguably the best thing about the record"). However, Kaplan already knew where he was going as a songwriter, as "The Cone of Silence," "The Forest Green," and "The Pain of Pain" make clear, and if the group's bracing blend of tuneful eclecticism and creatively applied noise was still gestating, Kaplan's lovely melodic sense and the haunting blend of his reedy tenor and Georgia Hubley's slightly fragile soprano marked Yo La Tengo as a band with real potential. Clint Conley made a rare post-Mission of Burma appearance on Ride the Tiger as producer (he also takes over from bassist Mike Lewis for three cuts), and he had the smarts not to impose a Vs.-style hard guitar sound on the band, instead making the most of the band's roomy jangle and giving the sound plenty of body when it needs it. Ride the Tiger is Yo La Tengo's juvenilia, and they'd create much stronger work a few years down the line, but on its own terms, it's an intelligent and engaging set, and any band that can cover the Kinks and Pete Seeger on the same album and make them both work must be doing something right. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Yo La Tengo has released several fine albums before, but only Painful encapsulates their folky guitar experimentalism perfectly. Alternating between dreamy Velvet Underground-style ballads and raving, Sonic Youth guitar squalls, Painful also finds the group improving their songwriting skills immeasurably. Before, they relied on soundscapes; now, the sound fleshes out their songs, from the trance-like "Nowhere Near" to the dense "From a Motel 6" and the two versions of "Big Day Coming," which cover both ends of the spectrum. A subtly addicting album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With song titles like "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss" and "Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck)," May I Sing with Me is classic Yo La Tengo, merging pop and noise in an awesome aural display. Songs start with Ira Kaplan's repetitive (and very simple) chord changes, as Georgia Hubley and (at this juncture) regular bassist James McNew add layer after layer of supportive sound. On a noisier track like the aforementioned "Mushroom Cloud of Hiss," the song explodes in paroxysms of feedback and drops the rhythmic pulse altogether, eventually returning the backbeat after a few minutes of white noise. That may not be everybody's cup of tea, but for those who like this type of adventurousness and recklessness, it's a lot of fun. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
