Listening Priority: High
I feel like this every time one of their albums is released, but it's ludicrous how many excellent albums Yo La Tengo's discography contains. They definitely have their own distinct sound, but they don't refrain from experimenting and playing around with different musical ideas. While their previous albums seemed to split between classic pop/soul tracks ("Mr. Tough," "Beanbag Chair," "If It's True"), whispered jams ("Song for Mahila," "Avalon or Someone Very Similar,"), and longer, more free form material ("Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," "And the Glitter is Gone"), Fade distills multiple aspects of Yo La Tengo into single songs. This convergence means less 10+ minute escapades, but it also makes for a very listenable album that doesn't compromise the complexities of the Yo La Tengo sound. The songs that they create have little lighthouse hooks that provide listeners with a guide through their foggy and melancholy soundscapes. The album never explodes as some of their previous ones did, but sustains a mellow, cohesive feel while tackling some heavy lyrical material. "Sometimes the bad guys come out on top / Sometimes the good guys lose / We try not to lose our hearts, not to lose our minds," the album quietly begins. "I know it's hard, believing in all of this / And then we run, running away from the end," Georgia Hubley sings in the final song, against a background of horns and strings that threaten to overwhelm her. Her husband, Ira Kaplan, joins her for the album's final verse: "Take me to the place, the lonely place / Take me out beyond the stress / Speak to me words we can't erase / Take me there, it's only us." Fade - which was apparently recorded after a health crisis for Kaplan - recognizes the scary, uncontrollable forces of the universe, but also finds some solace in human connection. Yo La Tengo is the rare band that releases an excellent album thirty years into their existence, delivering catchy songs while finding new ways to revise their sound.
I feel like this every time one of their albums is released, but it's ludicrous how many excellent albums Yo La Tengo's discography contains. They definitely have their own distinct sound, but they don't refrain from experimenting and playing around with different musical ideas. While their previous albums seemed to split between classic pop/soul tracks ("Mr. Tough," "Beanbag Chair," "If It's True"), whispered jams ("Song for Mahila," "Avalon or Someone Very Similar,"), and longer, more free form material ("Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," "And the Glitter is Gone"), Fade distills multiple aspects of Yo La Tengo into single songs. This convergence means less 10+ minute escapades, but it also makes for a very listenable album that doesn't compromise the complexities of the Yo La Tengo sound. The songs that they create have little lighthouse hooks that provide listeners with a guide through their foggy and melancholy soundscapes. The album never explodes as some of their previous ones did, but sustains a mellow, cohesive feel while tackling some heavy lyrical material. "Sometimes the bad guys come out on top / Sometimes the good guys lose / We try not to lose our hearts, not to lose our minds," the album quietly begins. "I know it's hard, believing in all of this / And then we run, running away from the end," Georgia Hubley sings in the final song, against a background of horns and strings that threaten to overwhelm her. Her husband, Ira Kaplan, joins her for the album's final verse: "Take me to the place, the lonely place / Take me out beyond the stress / Speak to me words we can't erase / Take me there, it's only us." Fade - which was apparently recorded after a health crisis for Kaplan - recognizes the scary, uncontrollable forces of the universe, but also finds some solace in human connection. Yo La Tengo is the rare band that releases an excellent album thirty years into their existence, delivering catchy songs while finding new ways to revise their sound.
Key Tracks: "Ohm," "Before We Run," "Is That Enough."