Popular Songs
Album | Yo La Tengo
Nearly 25 years after their first release, the Hoboken trio still sounds fresh and vibrant
Yo La Tengo's Popular Songs can be summed up in one line sung by drummer Georgia Hubley: "Let's make jam when life gives us a peach." It comes from "If It's True," a saccharine, Motown-flavored duet between Hubley and husband/frontman Ira Kaplan, backed by a sunny string section. The strings, which also bring a majestic feel to the echoing, psychedelic synths of album opener "Here To Fall," are the album's most significant new addition to a sound that's otherwise Yo La Tengo to the core, right down to the three drawn-out jams that by themselves make up the last 35 minutes of the album. But nearly 25 years after their first release, Hubley, Kaplan and co-conspirator James McNew (stalwart since 1992) still sound fresh and vibrant. Well represented by its cover art (a rusted, busted cassette tape that artist Dario Robleto constructed out of crushed bone), Popular Songs is a playlist of sorts, its songs connected by themes of things coming apart and putting the pieces back together.
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