Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
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Free Music Notes for I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Free Music Review: Lush, diverse, and stunningly well put together.
Hit: 4 Stars
Looking at Yo La Tengo's previous couple records to this one, while they were critically acclaimed and generally well received by audiences, I found the records lacking something and it seemed the band was getting mature (and by mature, I mean old). Thankfully, "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your A**" showed up to remind us that mature doesn't have to mean old.
What's been missing from the band's records has been a good dose of noise and distortion, and this record starts right up with a nearly eleven minute excursion into that territory-- opener "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind" blazes in with a fierce beat, an aggressive bass and a wave of feedback-driven lead guitar. That guitarist Ira Kaplan doesn't deliver his finest vocal (it sounds a bit forced to me) is a bit besides the point, the piece is a reminder that this is a band that knows how to cut loose.
Mind you, the opener is the exception rather than the rule, but it's really quite stunning what that little bit of energy can provide in framing the record. It also helps that the songwriting, arranging and production are all really top notch on the record, whether it's the bouncy pop songs that so dominate the album (the simply fantastic "Beanbag Chair", single "Mr. Tough"), Pet Sounds inspired instrumental "Daphnia", painful ballad "Black Flowers" (awash in deep brass and strings) or '60s style rocker "I Should Have Known Better". And while there's a couple duds here and there ("The Race is On Again", somewhat unintelligible "Watch Out For Me Ronnie"), for a nearly 80 minute album, this one's remarkably consistently good.
The record's not quite the masterpiece of I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, but it's the best thing they've done in a while. Recommended.
Free Music Review: I don't understand the hype for this Record.
Hit: 3 Stars
I'll start by saying that "Summer Sun" is my favorite record by these guys. This is not like that. Everyone goes on and on about this and I dont get it. The way that they start this disc just rubs me the wrong way going for this noodling repetitive song that just stinks. This couldve easily been widdled down to an e.p. WAY TOO LONG. Too much filer. Sorry for the dis but its the truth. Ill pass on this 1.Free Music Review: Fun And Cool
Hit: 4 Stars
My first contact with this Band was seeing the album and buying it solely because of the title. When it came in I listened to it twice and enjoyed it very much. It's hard describe the style since it morphs while listening and their influences are varied. In general a fun and cool, refreshing album.Free Music Review: Velvet Mayfield
Hit: 4 Stars
If this is your first taste of Yo La Tengo be in for a surprise. You might think that this is just another Velvet Underground clone trying to make their own 'Sister Ray' in the opening track. But after those repetetive 11 minutes are over you find out there is more to it.
Sweet soul vocals in the style of Curtis Mayfield, even including a great horn part. There's some jazz, some darker stuff and some noisy songs that reminded me of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Sonic Youth.
A lot of emotions are addressed on this album. Boredom and repetition, homesickness but also happyness.
Good CD, not great, not their best, not the best album of 2007. But Good.
Free Music Review: Place Holder
Hit: 4 Stars
Yo La Tengo aren't one of the most popular rock bands in the world, just one of the finest and most consistent. Over 20-plus years of work, they have established absolute authority over the post-Velvets drone-rock genre, without aping the Velvets' portentous implacability. The Tengo come off instead as friendly, slightly shy, next-door-neighbor types who just happen to write insanely catchy, frequently very noisy songs in a cornucopia of rock and pop styles -- songs that, oddly, tend to get more engaging the longer they last. Just because they're so open-hearted for an indie rock band doesn't mean Yo La Tengo aren't talented as hell.
Their latest release comes with an ironic title (visually and aurally, neither husband-and-wife team Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley nor bassist James McNew are bullies) and is bookended with astonishing epic numbers. In between, things veer from essential to iffy. Possibly the greatest flaw here, though, is a largely absent sense of urgency. Even at their quietest, as on the rapturous marital diary "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out" (2000), they've conveyed the sense that some gut-spilling was going on, however politely. Outside the two epics, a spooky instrumental, McNew's "Black Flowers" and some lovely cuts of Georgia's, their latest material settles for a pleasant rehash of old moves. That would be an accomplishment for many acts; for this one it's a mild disappointment.
Are Yo La Tengo (Spanish for "I've got it") still open-hearted? Possibly, but "I Am Not Afraid..." suggests that they aren't sharing any new details. That said, it's a much stronger album than 95 percent of what gets cranked out for our consumption, either by the music industry or by DIY rock acts. If it isn't the ideal starter kit for budding Yo La Tengo fans (that would be 1997's "I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One"), anyone who hears it first will want to hear more. As they should.