Monday, October 12, 2020

Striking a chord

Last week, I found myself facing tiresomely familiar accusations of indie snobbery and elitism from a friend who rarely rates anything released since about 1975 and deems melody and tunefulness to be the only true markers of musical quality. It was serendipitous, then, that Yo La Tengo's Sleepless Night EP happened to land in my reviewer's lap - a release that holds the promise, at least, of common ground.

Alongside studiously faithful Byrds and backporch blues covers sit a dazzlingly original version of Bob Dylan's 'It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry' and a tremendous new track ('Bleeding') that's in much the same vein. The EP is yet further proof that the trio are capable of being everything to everyone, and once again begs the question: is there anything they can't pull off?

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