We’ve only got a few more days until Yo La Tengo release their latest album, This Stupid World, on Matador Records — due out this Friday. The band opted to approach the recording sessions for this record a bit differently than they have in the past. Rather than bringing in outside producers and mixers, Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew handled all these duties themselves, resulting in an album that showcases the raw dynamics of the band and focuses on their sound when playing live together.
Examining various aspects of time and how our perspective of it can change as we grow older, the album jumps from noisy deconstructions to buzzy pop explosions and softly eviscerating ballads. As its expanse becomes known, the songs gradually form a tribute to Yo La Tengo’s history and their effect on indie rock and broader left-of-the-dial aesthetics.
New single “Sinatra Drive Breakdown” opens the album with a whirlwind of noisy experimentalism and callbacks to their Painful and Electr-O-Pura eras. Somewhere hiding in the back of all this chaos is even a nod to the Ride the Tiger jangle-pop which acted as a stepping stone to their later iconic ruckus. But it’s all mashed together in a genius bit of recontextualization. Clanging guitars romp and tear apart the surrounding geography while voices make their way through the din and Hubley’s motorik percussion acts as the guiding line through this dizzying rush of sound and fury.
Listen to the song below and check out some of the band’s upcoming tour dates.
Yo La Tengo’s new album This Stupid World is out this Friday, February 10, through Matador (pre-order/save). You can find the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tour Dates:
Wed, Feb 15 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
Thu, Feb 16 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
Fri, Feb 17 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo SOLD OUT
Sun, Feb 19 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom SOLD OUT
Mon, Feb 20 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom SOLD OUT
Wed, Feb 22 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore SOLD OUT
Fri, Feb 24 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore SOLD OUT
Sat, Feb 25 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom SOLD OUT
Sun, Feb 26 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom SOLD OUT
Mon, Feb 27 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom SOLD OUT
Thu, Mar 9 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle SOLD OUT
Fri, Mar 10 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle SOLD OUT
Sat, Mar 11 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
Mon, Mar 13 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East
Tue, Mar 14 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East
Thu, Mar 16 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater SOLD OUT
Fri, Mar 17 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
Sat, Mar 18 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
Sun, Mar 19 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club SOLD OUT
Tue, Mar 21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr Smalls
Wed, Mar 22 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom SOLD OUT
Fri, Mar 24 – Chicago, IL – Metro SOLD OUT
Sat, Mar 25 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom
Sun, Mar 26 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Mon, Apr 10 – Dublin, IE – 3Olympia
Wed, Apr 12 – Manchester, UK – New Century Hall
Thu, Apr 13 – Bristol, UK – SWX
Fri, Apr 14 – London, UK – The London Palladium
Sun, Apr 16 – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique
Tue, Apr 18 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
Wed, Apr 19 – Rotterdam, NL – LantarenVenster SOLD OUT
Thu, Apr 20 – Hamburg, DE – Uebel & Gefaehrlich
Fri, Apr 21 – Copenhagen, DK – Bremen Teater SOLD OUT
Sun, Apr 23 – Cologne, DE – Gloria Theatre
Mon, Apr 24 Prague, Czech Republic – MEETFACTORY
Tue, Apr 25 – Berlin, DE – Huxleys Neue Welt
Thu, Apr 27 – Paris, FR – La Cigale
Sat, Apr 29 – Barcelona, ES – Sala Apolo
Sun, Apr 30 – Murcia, ES – WARM UP Festival
Tue, May 2 – Madrid, ES – Warner Music the Music Station Príncipe Pío
Wed, May 3 – Bilbao, ES – Santana 27
Thu, May 4 – Bordeaux, FR – Rockschool Barbey
Fri-Sun, July 28-30 – Yuzawa, JP – Fuji Rock Festival
