ALBUM REVIEW: Yo La Tengo - This Stupid World

    It's always curious to see an artist when they've been around the block, especially when they inauspiciously put out a new album - Yo La Tengo certainly has been through the motions, with their debut album releasing all the way back in 1986. If you do recognize any of Yo La Tengo's work, however, chances are it's for their noise pop work from the mid-to-late 90s off the back of albums like Electr-o-Pura or I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, the latter of which garnered big critical success in 1997, as well as its fair share of commercial success. Coming up on 40 odd years since the band's formation, however, and Yo La Tengo has returned with a fittingly aggressive and noisy explosion with This Stupid World. While not nearly as pop-centeric as some previous work I've heard of theirs, This Stupid World ultimately fulfills itself with its muddy and bursting sound, while also still managing to have enough of an appeal to be accessible. For as long as the band has been around, it could be very easy to see This Stupid World as a late-career gem.

    For someone who isn't overly familiar with the work of Yo La Tengo, I did go in curious of what would be in store for me. Luckily, the first thing that greeted me with this album is also easily its strongest factor - Yo La Tengo are one hell of a group. Straight from the punching opener of "Sinatra Drive Breakdown", it was immediately clear to me that the work on This Stupid World would be an invigoration and aggressive indie rock album, with all kinds of brilliant noise to fill the gaps. It isn't necessarily a breakneck affair, but this isn't the kind of album that necessarily needs to be fast-paced - instead, it lingers in its distortion, and the result is an excellent execution of style and substance throughout. Of course, not every moment is also layered in overdriven guitars and thumping bass, and moments like "Aselestine" or "Apology Letter" allow the album to stew in some gentler instrumentation and a straightforward indie rock sound. Even if some of these moments do result in some of the album's weaker cuts, such as "Until It Happens", they at least provide a reprieve from what could otherwise be a relentless fuzz assault.

    The album does much more than stay interesting in its sound, though - Yo La Tengo's aggressive rock certainly has a charm to it, and there's enough little hooks to keep you listening. A moment like "Fallout" is caked in distortion and far from conventional pop, and yet it's backed with a great hook that makes it one of the standout moments on the album. The same can be said for the gentle and breezy "Aselestine", which has a beautiful vocal performance from Ira Kaplan on top of its soft acoustic work. This run of gentle songs, as previously mentioned, gives the album a sort-of "eye of the storm" feel to its flow, as following songs like "Brain Capers" and the smashing title track show the energy of the album's first third coming back in an even more fiery fashion, with the title track possibly being the album's absolute best moment. It all wraps up with the spacious "Miles Away", whose wide-open synths and laid-back drums make for an ideal ending to the album.

    I've familiarized myself with quite a few rock albums so far this year, and yet Yo La Tengo have managed to impress here. This Stupid World is an assuredly aggressive and invigorating piece of indie rock with all the energy in the world, and a solid flow throughout to boot. In such a messy and confusing modern age, This Stupid World makes a great soundtrack to vent it all out, and you'll have plenty of fun listening to it during any point, really. It's a more than enjoyable indie rock album that's sure to satisfy during most of its given moments.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to This Stupid World.