I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Label: Matador
Length: LP
Rated: NONE
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Yo La Tengo have a great record collection. I’d love to sit down and listen to it sometime. I’m less enthused listening to them rehash it. They’re able to jump genres from piano ballads to feedback-drenched jams to new wave rockabilly with such ease because no one in the band can actually sing. Without a notable lead singer providing a strong point of view, YLT operate as character actors and composite characters, melting into the background like much of the indie rock they’ve inspired. On their latest three-years-in-the-making album, a 15-song piece of overkill (someone pass a law demanding that bands only release 35 minutes of their best material, please), they lead off loud (‘Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkindâ?�) and settle down late (‘The Weakest Part,â?� ‘Song for Mahilaâ?�), sounding pretty and anonymous, like aural wallpaper for your condo; more cutting-edge ‘ that’s feedback, kid ‘ than ambient music, but serving much the same purpose.

This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2006.