Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Yo La Tengo's Popular Songs


It's been a long time, since they've rocked and rolled and you might not believe it but Yo La Tengo are back with a new album. Titled, Popular Songs, the album is their 16th and marks their 25th anniversary! It is also a new culmination for a career that has been swinging upwards since 2006’s critical and commercial success, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass.

A new generation of fans are discovering one of the most influential and intriguing bands in late 20th and early 21st century rock’n’roll. That proposition is kind of scary because for as long as I can remember Yo La Tengo has always been around.

Anyway, Popular Songs crosses many different styles while marking a musical journey through pop history AND the band’s history. It ranges from the wah-wah opener, “Here To Fall”, to the gorgeous Georgia-sung “Avalon Or Someone Very Similar”, to the concise summer anthem “Nothing To Hide”, culminating with three very long songs that close the album, ending with the 16-minute drone freakout jam, ”And The Glitter Is Gone”.

For the fact inclined: the band recorded this album in their home studio in Hoboken with some help from their old friend Roger Moutenot, and the album's cover art is a piece by Dario Robleto made from pulverized bones and trinitite (glass produced during the first atomic test explosion, from Trinity test site, c. 1945, when heat from blast melted surrounding sand). Popular Songs is out September 8th on Matador Records.

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