YO LA TENGO

This Stupid World (Matador)

For a band on the verge of celebrating their 40th year of existence (29 of which with the same lineup), Yo La Tengo have no right to still be turning out records this damn good. After the abstraction of 2020’s lockdown project We Have Amnesia Sometimes, This Stupid World distils everything they do best into its purest form.

Opener Sinatra Drive Breakdown sets an instantly familiar toe-tapping groove, James McNew’s foundational bassline and Georgia Hubley’s ticking drums establishing a platform for Ira Kaplan’s freeform guitar fireworks; Brain Capers thrills with its frazzled psychedelic thrum; Fallout is four minutes of fuzzily melodic majesty, a callback to Sugarcube and the mid-90s; Apology Letter echoes the intimacy and serenity of 2013 LP Fade; and Aselestine adds to Hubley’s catalogue of exquisite folky meditations.

Through the title track’s howling, droning feedback and martial beat comes Kaplan’s soothing voice: “This stupid world is all we have.” Indeed it is – so make the most of it, embrace Yo La Tengo’s magnificence and luxuriate in this and their entire back catalogue.

words BEN WOOLHEAD