There are many sides to Yo La Tengo. They may be the most venerable alt-rock band to have never broken up, including almost no line-up changes (and that’s with two of the three members being married), godfathers to godfathers of scenes. They’re the classic ‘critical favorite who’ve never gotten big in the mainstream’ act. They’re the best cover band since The Replacements. They’re the best thing about Hoboken, New Jersey.
Photos of Yo La Tengo at 2018 OctFest in New York, NY
QRO’s live review of Yo La Tengo at Central Park SummerStage in New York, NY on July 17th, 2017
Photos of Yo La Tengo at 2016 Pickathon in Happy Valley, OR
Photos of Yo La Tengo at 2013 Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands
Photos of Yo La Tengo at 2013 FYF Fest in Los Angeles, CA
Photos of Yo La Tengo at Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, NY on July 11th, 2013
QRO’s review of Yo La Tengo at Town Hall in New York on February 16th, 2013
Photos of Yo La Tengo at CMJ 2010 in New York, NY
QRO’s review of Yo La Tengo at Roundhouse in London, U.K. on November 8th, 2009
Photos of Yo La Tengo at KeySpan Park on Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY on July 13th, 2009
Photos of Yo La Tengo at 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL
They can also do lots of different styles of music, from covering “Meet the Mets” to instrumental jams, or playing a show half electric & standing, half acoustic & seated (QRO review). They could appear at everything from a Rust Belt classic rock fest to a hippie jam band bacchanalia. On latest record, There’s a Riot Going On, the trio of Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, and James McNew lean heavily on their relaxed, meandering side, for a beautiful record, which also really goes on too long.
Yo La Tengo are no strangers to long releases, and even with fifteen tracks, Riot barely breaks an hour. But from start to finish, it’s full of sweet, laid back pieces that stretch out and putter about. Hubley is at her sweetest on songs like “Shades of Blue” and “Polynesia #1 – but also meanders on “Ashes” and the somber “What Chance Have I Got”. Meanwhile, Kaplan himself meanders & mumbles on numbers such as “She May, She Might” and “Shortwave”. And then there are the more straight-up instrumentals, starting with opener “You Are Here”, which are even less ‘hook-y’.
There is no ‘riot’ in There’s a Riot Going On, another ironic Yo La Tengo album title like Popular Songs (QRO review) from the niche act, or I Am Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass from the nice act. And perhaps Riot is a reaction to their last full-length, the covers-heavy Stuff Like That There (QRO review).
Certainly long-term fans of Yo La Tengo (and there actually are many) will enjoy There’s a Riot Going On, and the band are consummate skilled professionals, as always. But when perhaps the most memorable piece is the Francophile ‘game show question music’ ditty “Esportes Casual”, it says something about the record.
