Albums by this artist

I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006)

Summer Sun (2004)

Danelectro EP (2000)

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)

I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (1997)

Electr-O-Pura (1995)

Concerts

November 26, 2000
Bowery Ballroom, New York

Yo La Tengo

Summer Sun

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» MARK T.R. DONOHUE | STAFF WRITER

Yo La Tengo Summer Sun Matador, 2004 RiYL: Lambchop, Iron & Wine, Broken Social Scene

I relentlessly belittled Yo La Tengo's previous album, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, which became a minor crossover hit among the white-collar downtown Borders Books & Music crowd. It was too one-dimensional, I said, too punchless, too damn quiet. Summer Sun is inarguably quieter. But it also succeeds where Nothing failed. It's compelling throughout, and at times almost unbearably pretty. Yo La Tengo's sense of humor and playfulness is back after the rather self-conscious love story thread of the last record.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that Yo La Tengo's latest new sound works better the second time around. Their original folk-rock incarnation peaked with their second record, New Wave Hot Dogs. The band's transition into Velvets-crazy noise rockers began on President Yo La Tengo, stumbled through May I Sing With Me, and finally reached maturity on the stellar Painful. Until And Then Nothing, subsequent releases expanded the palette gradually while drawing on all that had come before. Then, unexpectedly, Ira Kaplan unplugged his fuzz pedals, Georgia Hubley picked up her brushes, and it was Adult Contemporary city.

Summer Sun is the album that proves And Then Nothing wasn't the huge misjudgement some of us initially thought it as. It's a technically softer set of songs but it attracts and keeps the ear much more easily. Check out the hazy, uptempo "Little Eyes," where Hubley's abstract cooing approaches coffeehouse My Bloody Valentine. On "Moonrock Mambo" Kaplan namechecks candy bars, "Simpsons" characters and musician buddies over a hip-hop piano lick. The lengthy "Let's Be Still" is a simply glorious blend of trademark YLT understatement and heroic contributions by a number of guest wind players. Then they finish off wryly with Hubley sweetly singing Big Star's backstabbing "Take Care," which has little if anything to do with the bright, friendly Sunday morning album that's preceded it. Irony, thy name is Yo La Tengo.

Still, the lack of range means that Summer Sun doesn't quite stack up with the band's greatest moments (the trio beginning with Painful and running through Electr-O-Pura to I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. The album plays to its very specific strengths, meaning there's always going to be a certain number of people who find it soporific and will be difficult to be convinced otherwise. While it lacks the obvious ear candy appeal of a "Sugarcube" or "Tom Courtenay," for those prepared to take the LP on its own merits, many subtle treats await. I never had any problem with Yo La Tengo playing quiet, I just didn't like them playing boring.

MARK T.R. DONOHUE | Mark T.R. Donohue is a prolific freelance writer whose areas of expertise include Rockies baseball, video games, genre television, English soccer, and pub rock. He lives in Colorado, where he cultivates the largest and creepiest private collection of Alyson Hannigan memorabilia in the Mountain West.