When a band like Yo La Tengo names an album Popular Songs, you can bet it’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek — especially when it
leads off with a nearly six-minute psychedelic number like “Here to
Fall.” The New Jersey trio’s 12th studio release — which comes
hot on the heels of their Fuckbook cover collection as the Condo
Fucks — doesn’t find them turning a whole lotta new tricks. But
at this point in their 25-year career, are new tricks what anyone
really wants? The band’s Nuggets-lite impressions still do the
trick on songs like “Avalon or Someone Very Similar,” “Nothing to Hide”
and “Periodically Double or Triple.” “If It’s True” is a great slice of
’70s-inspired pop, while “When It’s Dark” could be the soundtrack to
autumn 2009. But the best tunes on Popular Songs are the ones
that’ll never get played on the radio — probably not even college
radio. “More Stars Than There Are in Heaven” is nearly 10 minutes long
and full of spacious guitars. It comes complete with a mantra that
declares “we walk hand in hand.” “The Fireside” sounds ripped from
Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children, until Ira
Kaplan’s hushed vocals kick in midway through a head trip. “And the
Glitter Is Gone” is the lengthy album closer that finds the band
rocking a pulsing, acid-tinged jam for nearly 16 minutes.
— Jeremy
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2009.
