Yo La Tengo
Fade
Matador Records
I wish I could say I have been following Yo La Tengo forever, but unfortunately that's just not the case. I got a lot of catching up to do. Prior to this album, last release I heard was 1993's Painful. I saw a video on 120 Minutes, went to some hole in the wall record store and bought Painful on cassette. I ran that damn album into the ground. I even wrote them a letter and sent it snail mail style, and got a really quick response, which blew me away. So, I don't know why I didn't keep up with them, because I indeed loved that album. I think it's mostly because shortly afterward I went through one of those stupid "if it ain't punk rock then I ain't fucking having it" type phases. So glad I'm not a pretentious asshole anymore. Now I'm just an asshole. Anyway, they don't seem to have changed all that much, but I would say that Painful was more space rock/shoegazey at times than Fade is. But you can still tell it's Yo La Tengo. Mostly it's pretty laid back; the type of shit that would greatly help in the healing of a Sunday hangover. There's some beautiful orchestral elements, particularly in "Is That Enough". "Well You Better" and "Paddle Forward" are probably the most upbeat areas, and the latter half has a lot of slower chill moments to it. I certainly dig this album, and look forward to doing some heavy backtracking with their large catalog of releases. Produced by John McEntire, from Tortoise and The Sea and Cake.
Norwegian Arms
Wolf Like a Stray Dog
Big School
I don't know a whole lot about this group, but I know the musical arrangements are pretty damn beautiful and mostly upbeat, and the vocals put me in one hell of a good mood. It's definitely folky. The song "Wolf Like a Stray Dog" is like speed folk, or something. I dunno. I dig it, for sure. You can check out their bandcamp HERE and their Facebook HERE.
Mystical Weapons
Self Titled
Chimera Music
Instrumental psych prog type stuff, featuring Sean Lennon and Greg Saunier (Deerhoof). I've never heard anything quite like it, to be perfectly honest. But, I love me the hell out of some instrumental jams. And this is one of those releases that makes me feel a bit fucked up, even if I'm perfectly sober. You can get a bit more info HERE.
- Brobocop
