YO LA TENGO — “Popular Songs”

YO LA TENGO — “Popular Songs”
By Rick Zeigler

Aside from Sonic Youth, no indie-rock band has been more consistent in output over the last 25 years than Yo La Tengo (indeed, how many bands even survive for ten years, let alone 25). Popular Songs is Yo La Tengo’s 12th album (or 16th, depending on how you count ‘em), and the band shows no evidence of resting on their laurels. As is their tendency, Popular Songs again shows the group taking on a diversity of styles, from fuzzy noise-pop (“Nothing To Hide”) to shoegaze (“More Stars Than There Are In Heaven”) to waltz-like folk (“I’m On My Way”) to psychedelic rave-ups (opener “Here To Fall”). They even add in a bit of Motown funk with “Periodically Double Or Triple”. Through it all, the band unfurls their gorgeous, often lighter than air melodies and harmonies, courtesy of the husband-wife team of Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley. Indeed, when they sing “Why don’t we float up into space…for an hour,” this album largely invites the listener to do just that. The oddest thing about Popular Songs has to be the sequencing, with the three longest songs also being the final three tunes on the album. And while the aforementioned “More Stars…” is a superb tune with great guitar work from Kaplan that never wears out its welcome over its ten minutes, the final two tunes do tend to meander. “The Fireside,” in particular, tends to drag on for its eleven-plus minutes with its classical-folk guitar shadings recalling, at its best, the work of Leo Kottke and John Fahey and, at its worst, new age jazz. That said, there is more than enough here to once again confirm Yo La Tengo’s ability to put forth original tunes while also paying respect to the musical roots from which they were born. If they continue on for another couple of years, they’ll be ready to do a covers album of their own tunes.

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