Search - Yo La Tengo :: And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

THE VERY BEST GET EVEN BETTER

03/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although it cannot be said for many, many bands, many, like fine vintage wine, just seem to get better with age. The magic threesome that is Yo La Tengo (married couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley and rotund bass master James McNew) return with what could very well be their finest CD. A truly perfect album that dishes out songs about love, loss, pain, joy, distress, loneliness, and suffering. Songs that echo with pleasant and vicious guitar licks, kick mud in your mamma's face drumming, and absolutely gorgeous singing. The haunting opener "Everyday", the bouncy "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House", the brilliant cover of "You Can Have It All", the savagely beautiful "Cherry Chapstick" w/ a guitar solo that kicks you while your down, the depressingly gorgeous "Tears Are In Your Eyes" and the dreamy, "Night Falls On Hoboken" are just a handful of the magnificent songs that encompass this excellent album. This is one fan who couldn't get enough of "I Can Hear The Heart" and who has made a new space in his CD player for this one. Also, if you haven't checked out YLT live, do yourself a favor, they are tourning right now (3/00) so go see a show, you will not be dissapointed."

Endless love

leopold bloom | the mighty palouse | 02/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is easily the most lo-fi, acoustic effort of the last four YLT discs: softly ticking drum machines, spacy guitar atmospherics, not-so-sudden organs and whispery vocals are the m.o. here. One exception: "Cherry Chapstick," which sounds like "Sugarcube" injected with a healthy dose of Sonic Youth's "Teenage Riot"--and it's amazing. The album starts off slowly, almost shyly, with the ethereal "Everyday," but by the third or fourth track, it becomes all-consuming. This is the most seamless YLT since "Painful"--even after the 17th minute of "Night Falls on Hoboken" (and the 77th minute of the disc), you'll want to do it all over again. (I have nothing against "I Can Hear the Heart," but come on, dear reader, tell the truth, you don't always want to sit through "Spec Bebop" in its entirety.) How does it stack up to previous YLT records? Who cares? Beginning with "Painful," they have produced 4 of the most intelligent records of the last ten years. And to top it all off, Ira and Georgia are still in love: I'm surprised the "family values" ideologues don't jump on the bandwagon--YLT might just make marriage cool again."

Night music

leopold bloom | 02/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Quiet, meditative, intimate and lovely. Pefect music to listen with the lights down low. Yo La Tengo has managed to totally redefine themselves while staying true to form. And damn it all, they've gone and created another lo-fi masterpiece again. Great stuff."