Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World Almost four decades into their career, a track like “Sinatra Drive Breakdown” should sound like a surprise. It should sound like a discordant, left turn for a band built around AM radio pop, windswept ballads, and drawn-out ambient montages, and if you’ve only been listening to the Yo La Tengo since 2006, that, and a lot of covers, are essentially all you’ve been hearing. But with its chugging bass line and feedback-laden theatrics, “Sinatra” and the fuzzy lead single “Fallout”, harken back to classic-era Yo La Tengo, and the set of albums that have earned them entry into the world’s best rock band conversation. Since I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass , the band has largely, forgone their harder edge, a symptom many presumed was a consequence of their graduation into a legacy band. Their output was still consequential though, albeit a little less riveting, as the band took the time to hone their softer more melodious side. That’s here ...
a subjective look at objective sounds