Word: bandness
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This is particularly true for a band like Yo La Tengo, who has remained for the past decade on the radar of most underground rock purveyors, if not in their CD changers. Though I’ve listened to a handful of the band’s more recognizable albums, I’ve made little effort to absorb the music; thankfully, their recently Matador-released retrospective, “Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs 1985-2003,” has given me the chance. My reaction borders on rapture...
...Hoboken, N. J. band emerged two decades ago from the throbbing creative arteries of guitarist/mastermind Ira Kaplan, bassist James McNew, and drummer Georgia Hubley. The band has undergone some major stylistic transitions over the years, and all their incarnations are represented on this sprawling compilation...
...cymbal clang and distorted chord is added to the brew. The song is all twitchy, nervous-tic buildup; I’m searching here for a modern mainstream reference point, but coming up empty. This song, and those to follow, have a rich mellow ambience that no radio-friendly band has managed to emulate, but it’s notable that these tunes could fit comfortably in an iPod right alongside Norah Jones or Jack Johnson...
...mild-mannered band generally keeps their amps at 1.1, but on a few of their more immediately accessible tracks, the pop melodies introduce themselves more assertively. This is particularly evident on their more Replacements-tinted tunes, like late ’80s tracks “Lewis” and “The River of Water,” though subsequent albums also feature shiny happy radio moments (most agreeably on Electr-O-Pura’s “Tom Courtenay”). Standing alone, these songs are pleasant enough, but the effect can be unsettling when these...
...when the band suddenly throws a damn hard rock song (“The Story of Jazz”) and a miscalculated cover of Sun Ra’s “Nuclear War” in the mix, the gentle giant of a compilation loses its way. Fortunately, this decline does not occur until the second disc’s final tracks, and this uncharacteristic sloppiness is redeemed by the lyrical ease of album closer “By the Time It Gets Dark...