Always unearthing the remarkable in the mundane, Yo La Tengo creates the perfect aural counterpart to the artwork on its latest CD, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. Something unassuming, quiet and amazing is happening just beyond the edge of the image of suburban houses at twilight. Likewise, the band enriches its distinctly non-bombastic brand of pop with ambient sounds and drum machine rhythms that have all the soft yet stunning impact and naturalness of flowers blossoming or prairie winds blowing. The songs implode with quiet electricity. “You Can Have It All” sounds like a tender, metronome-driven lament for the American dream. “Tears Are in Your Eyes” could be the spooky love song at the heart of a David Lynch flick. “From Black to Blue” combines bell-like keyboards and backwards-masking guitar to eerie effect. Throughout, producer Roger Moutenot adds a spacey, still airiness to the production while casting new shades of intimacy on Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley’s vocals. The result: a sublime Scenes From a Marriage, Hoboken-style.
Producer: Roger Moutenot. Studio: Alex the Great (Nashville, TN) and the Big House (NYC). Additional recording by David Henry in Nashville, Bill Emmons in Manhattan, Peter Walsh on location in Brooklyn and Wayne Dorell at the Pigeon Club in Hoboken, N.J. Mastering: Greg Calbi/Sterling Sound (NYC).
