Thursday, October 1, 2009
Yo La Tengo has been a band longer than I've been alive. This is their twelfth album in the 25 years of their existence and when you think about that in the terms of the music industry, that's a lot — it's more than double how long the Beatles were together. In a place of one-hit wonders, singles and “Yo-imma-let-you-finish-buts” 25 years is an eternity for a simple indie band like Yo La Tengo.
When you think about it, though, they aren't really a simple indie band anymore. Their sound has developed over the years to incorporate so many intricacies of so many genres that they aren't simple at all.
When I first went through the album, I thought that it wasn't different from their other material and that they hadn't really developed any more. Well, they don't have to. Their sound has so much to offer in so many different facets that remaining the same for them is being innovative and different. 1970s-funk string parts, nasty garage rock guitar, disjointed electro-beats … all of it comes together yet again in a composition by the incredible versatility of this band.
Despite all of this variation, none of the songs seem out of place or uncomfortable. All of the songs are branded with that same label of Yo La Tengo that you've come to expect.
The long and short of it is, this band is aging. Yet somehow, just like Mick Jagger's leather pants, they haven't lost any of their luster.
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