Indie Folk band Yo La Tengo’s newest release, “This Stupid World,” oscillates between a harsh, chaotic dissonance and a satisfying softness, leaning into a grating tension that has produced one of their most dynamic albums in their 40-year career.
The album sounds about as spontaneous and disorderly as its inception was — derived from a series of impromptu jam sessions and little to no planning. Lyrics formed organically through the collaborative nature of their process, as band members — Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew — responded to the music and one another until the album came to fruition.
In an interview with Pitchfork, singer, drummer and pianist for the band, Hubley, said, “When it was time to sequence the record, it was like, ‘Wait a minute, these songs are all over the place.’ Trying to put it together was a challenge, which definitely speaks to the fact that we didn’t have a goal of what this mood was going to be.”
Despite the tumultuous approach, Yo La Tengo starts the album full of bravado, railing against the world with “Sinatra Drive Breakdown.” Kaplan’s voice carries over a cacophony of grainy guitar which mirrors the repetitive lyrics, “Your eyes, your love/Until wе all break until we all break/I see what you see, I see wintеr still/I see clearly how it ends/I see the moon rise as the sun descends.” As elements of the song remain stagnant, others fluctuate from harsh freestyling to strangled noise overlaid by dissonance, leaving their voices a mere afterthought to the chaotic instrumental jumble. The song leaves one feeling like the band is thrashing in the middle of a badly lit basement house show.
“Apology Letter” beautifully reflects the profundity in Yo La Tengo’s lyrical simplicity. One of the least instrumentally heavy songs on the album, a gentle, meandering riff threads its way through the lyrics. The song depicts a lover’s quarrel instilled with a child-like honesty as Ira Kaplan sings conversationally, “If I were to smile at you/Would you smile at me?/And I can’t bear to look to see/If this apology letter’s returned unread.” Accompanied by a layered, echoing guitar, “Apology Letter” portrays a playful intimacy few artists capture so authentically, save, perhaps, singer Kimya Dawson.
“This Stupid World” encapsulates Yo La Tengo’s abundance of experience mastering their sound and their ability to expand and experiment within it. As trailblazers for the alternative rock scene, “This Stupid World” solidifies their collective musical authority and keeps fans on their toes — always looking for Yo La Tengo’s next sound.
