Ok, so the introductory blurb. I first encountered Yo La Tengo in a split show with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and they suprised me with a face meltingly great performance. Not only did they blast out feedback drenched guitar freakouts, but they also fit in some beautiful pop melodies and the longest version of Sun Ra's Nuclear War I've ever heard.
I've now explored a chunk of their back catalogue and have found a lot to like throughout. I'm Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, their album from a few years ago is actually probably their strongest with an almost perfect mix of the chaotic distortathons and beautiful melodies.
Unfortunately their new record doesn't quite hold up as well. The pace is relatively sedate throughout and rather too one dimensional. There are some nice strings in a few numbers and everything has a soothing reverb glow, but I struggle to listen to the whole thing without drifting off.
The most unfortunate thing about the album is the lack of no-wavey skronk to mix up the songs. Instead of integrating the razor edge guitar into the tracks in a tight and creative way, the album closes with a repeating chord sequence and guitar blow out. This is nice enough when taken on its own but it feels like a missed opportunity and an afterthought.
Next time how about a bit more creativity throughout, eh?
On a side note, look out for a post about Nurse With Wound's excellent new CD that costs a bargain 99p in a few days. 80 minutes or so of some fine collage work that sounds like a wreak of People Like Us, Stars of the Lid and dada play.
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