Friday, February 10, 2023

I'm with Stupid

Yo La Tengo translates as "I've got it" - and the Hoboken legends' new album This Stupid World, released as they approach four decades of existence, underlines the fact that they still have.

If you want a succinct assessment, here's Michael Hann on Twitter: "Every time I review a Yo La Tengo album, I start off thinking: 'Three stars. They've just made the same record again.' And then three or four listens in, I think, 'And what a great record it is.'"

If you want a longer evaluation that repeatedly hits the nail on the head, here's Grayson Haver Currin's excellent review for Pitchfork: "On This Stupid World, Yo La Tengo are ready to sing again, to shake free of [We Have Amnesia Sometimes'] uneasy torpor and charge ahead by reimagining and recharging some of the best parts of their history ... This Stupid World is just a particularly timely chapter in the modest saga of indie rock's most unassuming institution. Its songs capture not only the darkness so many of us feel with each waking day but also the impulse to keep waking, to keep going."

And if you want a necessarily brief appreciation from yours truly, my Buzz write-up is here.

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