New Yo La Tengo

well it's not "out" yet ... technically. If you preordered it, Matador has a stream up. you also get an LP of their score to Adventureland. So there's that.

bought the new one a few days ago. haven't had a chance to form a proper opinion on it, but did have a phone interview with ira a couple of weeks ago. i wasn't in prime form and didn't get much valuable information from him. nothing that i hadn't already picked on from what i'd read in any case. he did talk at length about the recording process for this new record though, specifying how as usual he didn't approach it with any kind of set goal in mind.

listened to the CD this morning on the busride to work -- sounded awesome, awesome, awesome. only song I'm not sure about is the ira/georgia Motown-pop duet -- kind of seems like they don't quite pull it off.

I have a feeling this is a very solid to pretty good YLT album, but the horrible sequencing is keeping it from truly being a great YLT album. As some of the reviews I've read have mentioned, the decision to dump all three 10 minute plus songs at the end really does no favors. The last two are probably my favorites, with the 16 minute closer being absolutely sublime, but I was pretty worn out by the time I got there. I feel like mixing them up with some of the poppier tracks would have made for a better journey. Maybe when I don't have all these Beatles remasters to sift through I'll play around with some reconfiguring of the tracklist.

I think the Motown duet is kinda cute.

This is very nice, but yes, the sequencing is lazy and stupid, and this is gonna suffer massively in my mind for getting lost in the Beatles rush.

Are any YLT albums NOT too long?

I don't think Electr-O-Pura, ICHtHBaO, or AtNTIIO are too long but then, yeah, much better sequencing on those.

I Can Hear the Heart whatever is too long (too long title too). I've rarely made it past "Little Honda" when listening from the beginning.

Electropura on the other hand is just about right, as is Painful.

I think it's only really since Summer Sun where the albums have gotten to be a little too long for me. Don't get me wrong, still good to great albums all, but a bit wearing on a full listen.

this is gonna suffer massively in my mind for getting lost in the Beatles rush.

I hadn't really thought about that but tbh I just assumed that YLT albums were bought by basically the same people every time for the last decade

All the long tracks on one end haven't bothered me, since some of their long instrumentals placed in the middle of their albums (looking at you "Daphnia") don't work out that well.

Since I've got it on vinyl I've been thinking of it more as two separate releases, the first with the short, poppier numbers and the second with the extended tunes.

yeah i like having the epics at the end ... almost like a separate album -- which is maybe the way the vinyl is? are all of those long tracks on the second LP?

This is a good album. I've lived with it a full month without getting bored, yet it's mildly boring. Does that make sense?

it's understated? i kind of agree -- other than maybe the epics, no track really stands out as an instant classic kind of thing. but they all sound good.

Speaking of sequencing, I just now realized that the Summer Sun on my iPod is all kinds of out of order.

i love yo la tengo. this new one, however, is barely registering. well i guess there's always ICHTHBAO to salvage those wounds.

This is a good album. I've lived with it a full month without getting bored, yet it's mildly boring. Does that make sense?

― vulva eyes (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), viernes 11 de septiembre de 2009 06:23 PM (3 hours ago)

It does when you consider it's a Yo La Tengo album.

i just ordered it. but my expectations are low. will report later. it seems that they have lost it with the last album before. the one with the ass in the title. i never listened to the cd. the tracks were too long, too predictable and too boring. it hurts when your fave band doesn't deliver the goods anymore.

As some of the reviews I've read have mentioned, the decision to dump all three 10 minute plus songs at the end really does no favors.

Is this really what the reviews are saying? To me that's completely off the mark. The last three tracks in a row are what takes the album to the next level. It's a spectacular way to end an album, taking something they've done a few times before and going so much further with it. If anything it was the last album where the sequencing bothered me a bit. I liked a lot of the individual songs but as an album it didn't have as much of an impact, was kind of dreary.

From the Pitchfork review:

After nine tracks, the only thing missing would be the usual YLT epic, and well, the band doesn't disappoint. In an odd bit of sequencing, all the long tracks are clumped together at the end, forming a trilogy of nine-minute-plus jams with wildly varying results.

I guess Mitchum just calls it "odd", but I'm trying to dig up some other reviews saying this.

I think "The Fireside" might be my fave track here -- kind of makes me think of Fairport Convention's "Reynardine" for some reason -- sleepier, but still that sort of tense, hanging in space feeling.

even more disappointing than i assumed. the album is much too long, the tracks are too long, too much repetition. and hardly any spark anywhere. a band who sounds old, really fucking old. without any interesting new ideas. they have lost me, sorry. the last track is a waste of time like no other i have ever heard by them. they should retire, please. it's not too late. their oeuvre is big and varied enough to make them one of the most subtle bands of all time.

well, to each his own! have been listening to this a lot in the last week, and loving it more w/ each spin. maybe i'm just old, really fucking old.

older than 46?

oh god no, not that old

So after giving this a few listens I'm not that crazy about it. It's definitely pleasant and enjoyable, but not that interesting (outside of the first track, which I thought was terrific). The sequencing doesn't bother me, especially on vinyl, where all the short songs are on the first LP and the 2nd is epics. However the epics aren't that compelling. I'm nearly always game for an extended jam, and YLT rarely disappoint me in this regard... but somehow a 16 minutes of the hook to My Cherie Amour and Ira's feedback isn't doing it for me. All in all I much prefer the previous one.

My opinion of this record has grown slightly, but I still think its a second-tier Yo La Tengo album. After another listen today, I decided that shifting "More Stars Than There Are In Heaven" to the first half and completely eliminating "The Fireside" (such a snooze) would make it a lot easier to take. The closing epic really works well though.

james mcnew's track ('i'm on my way', assuming it's him singing) is one of the highlights of an otherwise inconsistent record, though it does go on for a bit too long. vocally, it recalls stephen prina and jim o'rourke for me. the instrumental parts are pretty nice.

It's definitely pleasant and enjoyable, but not that interesting

this has been my view of YLT records since 'turned itself inside-out'

I haven't heard that one or Summer Sun...

this has been my view of YLT records since 'turned itself inside-out'

+1

This is the last one I'm paying for.

+2, though change that to "since 'Electr-O-Pura'" for me.

I still haven't bought a copy of the new record, but I loved "The Story of Yo La Tango" off of the last one.

Does this have any equally excellent epic guitar tunes on it?

Two of the three long ones at the end I guess, especially the 16 minute finale - lots and lots of feedback.

Exactly what I wanted to hear! I'll have to pick this up. They have it on sale for $6.99 at Newbury Comics.

Thanks, jon.

condo fucks >>> this

I'll pop in here once again with a dissenting voice -- listening to this now, and it is wonderful.

Again, I don't dislike the album, I'm just not finding enough of what I love in a YLT to see myself coming back to it very often. I'd imagine most of the songs will sound just fine when I'm in the mood to shuffle my YLT collection on random, but the album as whole just won't have me reaching back for it like I do with half a dozen of their other records.

Yeah, as with all bands 25 years into their career, it's not like the world *needs* a new Yo La Tengo album desperately. I don't know if, in a year or two, this new one will be the one I reach for when I'm in the mood for Yo La Tengo. But for now, it's sounding great!

as with all bands 25 years into their career

section 25 and for against make me heavily disagree with this!

saw them last night in los angeles. excellent two hour set, equally split between motorik, quiet tunes, and noise freakouts. pretty dope. and there was almost a fight!

I'm not usually a huge fan of Georgia's singing, but "By Two's" is amazing.

I was at the Avalon show too! I wanted more skronk in the encores, but other than that it was a good show. What/where was the fight about?

some dude with big hair was being annoying and blocking someone else's view with his head.

the world *needs* very few albums by bands 2 years into their career

well, sure. I'm just saying that with Yo La Tengo, if I'm in the mood to listen to them, I've got plenty of options at this point. I like that they're still making music, but if they stopped suddenly, there'd be more than enough of them for me to enjoy.

new tune is sounding great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDojbuBQlmo
big production touches working nicely.

since I Am Not Afraid it's felt like most YLT songs go on almost exactly twice as long as they need to. This isn't breaking the trend.

also the bombastic production would be cooler if they weren't burying the vocal melody - is there a term for that yet? Schmaltzgaze?

IANAOYAIWBYA is their best

schmaltzgaze! oof. i dunno, i've listened to this song three times this morning and it's getting better with each play.

also risk of lawsuit by music publishers

wow There's A Riot Going On is even better than I remembered, works really well as a whole album listening through.