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- Yo La Tengo ~ Summer Sun
Yo La Tengo ~ Summer Sun
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£22.00
£22.00
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Release Date: 25 January 2019
2LP
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Back in print on vinyl. Three years after 2000's brilliant And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, Yo La Tengo returned with Summer Sun, an album that's as settled and smooth as the previous one was inventive and eclectic. Musically, Summer Sun continues the band's progression away from intricate, guitar-based pop both loud and soft and toward an arguably more sophisticated sound. This time around, the post-rock, Krautrock, and jazz influences the band introduced on I Can Hear the Heart and perfected on And Then Nothing dominate Summer Sun, giving it a hushed, polished feel. Sometimes, this approach works, as on the lovely opener "Beach Party Tonight," which sounds appropriately warm and full of possibilities, and "Tiny Birds," a droning, spiralling track that sounds a bit like a fusion of post-rock and Pet Sounds. However, the fusion-inspired instrumental "Georga Vs. Yo La Tengo" and the jammy, ten-minute "Let's Be Still" veer dangerously close to noodling and bloat the album's length to over an hour. Much of this is due to Summer Sun's arrangements and productions: tracks like "How to Make a Baby Elephant Float" and "Don't Have to Be So Sad" are based on lighter-than-air guitars, drums, and synths and topped with whispery vocals. When the band does get a little livelier, they deliver some memorable moments, such as the percolating "Little Eyes"; the cute, poppy "The Season of the Shark"; and "Today Is the Day," a Georgia Hubley song that's nearly as gorgeous as "Shadows" or "Nowhere Near."