yo la tengo - fade

Yo la Tengo

Fade
Matador; 2012

4 out of 5

With Fade, Indie-Rock Darlings Yo La Tengo celebrate longevity,keeping on course, & dealing with life's challenges as they age. I've played the release over 10 times over the past 2 days & find myself enjoying it more with each listen. The combo is led by Ira Kaplan & Georgia Hubley & is the group's 13th legitimate release. I was turned on to the group during the heydey of Indie-Rock in the 90's & have enjoyed nearly all of their diverse releases. If you are familiar with the group, you know that they can begin a song with soft, melodic, textures that can evolve into ear-splitting sounds that may make you wish that you have brought your set of ear-plugs. On Fade, however, the emphasis is on gentler, mellow sounds. Fade deals with gentler, melodic, warm tones with experimental undertones. The 10 songs on Fade seem to morph quietly into each other. 2 songs even introduce strings & textured orchestration. It's clear that the emphasis here is on life's mortality & staying the course as time passes & things around them are struggling to keep from falling apart. The warm Velvetsy-Pop wins out here. All of the songs are very strong. Highlights include "Ohm", Is That Enough", "Paddle Forward", "I'll Be Around", "Cornelia and Jane", & "Two Trains". No speaker-blasting fireworks here. As I previously emphasized, the clear focus of Fade is gentle, layered, melodic, warm pop. Like putting your child's or your lover's head down gently on a soft pillow. As I said there are 10 tracks & the release clocks in at just under 46 minutes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! SMRZ!!