Whether or not
Yo La Tengo
are being tongue in cheek with the title of their 14th album,
Popular Songs
does find Hoboken's finest embracing
pop
song structures with a renewed degree of enthusiasm -- this isn't quite the
"loaded with hits" album, but for a band that's shown an increasing willingness to explore the outer limits of its music in the studio,
features nine tunes you can hum along with and sometimes even dance to. Those who got high marks in math will notice that
has 12 selections, and as befits a band that covered
George McCrae
's
"You Can Have It All,"
on the second half of this set
YLT
take the opportunity to stretch out and invite the spirit for a while -- the total time of the first nine tracks on
is roughly the same as the last three, which should tell you something about the album's dual nature.
"Periodically Double or Triple"
and
"If It's True"
in the first half are two of the most user-friendly songs this band has recorded in quite some time, the former a playfully funky
R&B
number with a killer bassline and the latter a slice of sweet uptown
soul
complete with a Hammond B-3 and a polished string section, while
"I'm on My Way"
"All Your Secrets"
are low-key but beautifully crafted examples of smart
for grownups that won't insult your intelligence or your imagination. If
"By Two's"
"Here to Fall"
reflect
's trippier inclinations, the melodies give them a firmer backbone than many of their previous gestures in this direction, and
"Nothing to Hide"
is a bracing and joyous dose of
rock & roll
. The first half of the album is smart enough and strong enough that the final three cuts almost seem like a letdown;
"More Stars Than There Are in Heaven"
is lovely, but sounds like a rehash of the ideas the band worked out so well on
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
, and the minimalist acoustic guitar textures of
"The Fireside"
are almost too fragile to support its 11-minute length.
closes with the usual
Ira Kaplan
guitar freakout;
"And the Glitter Is Gone"
is a fine plunge into the valley of skronk, with
Georgia Hubley
James McNew
bashing away with equal fervor and giving this album a typical but rousing finale. But as fine as those nearly 16 minutes of controlled chaos are, it's the first half of
that you're more likely to come back to, where by thinking in a small space
have challenged themselves a bit and beautifully risen to the occasion. ~ Mark Deming