A Welcoming Sense of Discomfort
On their latest full-length album, This Stupid World, Yo La Tengo reinvigorate the indie rock genre with a mix of sounds that pull from all sorts of influences. Led by Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, the New Jersey sourced band, having been formed nearly four decades ago, are certainly veterans of the genre at this point in time. With introspective themes, memorable chord progressions and dissonant tones, the record truly embodies what the indie rock genre is all about.
The group approaches music writing on this record with a very unconventional point of view that ends up really defining their sound. Most likely sourced from psychedelic rock influences, the group tactfully blends major keys with minor ideas, not so much that it ruins the sound but just enough to make the listener uneasy. On the opening track, “Sinatra Drive Breakdown,” the band grooves on a pedal C from bassist James McNew and the verse seems to settle in the key of C as well, that is until the lyric “until we all break” triggers dissonant guitar bends that unsettle the atmosphere of the song. This continues into a somewhat aleatoric guitar solo that follows no rhyme or reason, still pursuing the dissonance from before. This style of playing continues on the album, where the guitar is used less as an instrument and more as a tool to induce an atmosphere or effect. Later, on the track “Tonight’s Episode,” the first thing heard is a guitar feedback sourced drone that sets the tone of the track, then continues throughout it as different elements are layered on top, and again on the track “Until It Happens,” a continuous dissonant major second is buried in the mix, but is prominent enough to make the listener uneasy.
Although these elements of tension do appear from track to track, not every track is made the same. The group’s more sedated songwriting finds its place in other tracks throughout the album. The laid back and sincere “Aselestine”, sang by drummer Georgia Hubley, laments the loss of someone, whether it be a lover or friend, either passed on from life or moved on from a relationship. The instrumentation becomes much simpler and more conventional on the song, consisting of just acoustic guitar, drums with brushes, bass guitar and ambient pads, filling the space of the song. Similarly, on “Apology Letter” just a couple of tracks later, these themes continue, with vocalist Ira Kaplan singing of anxiety-riddled thoughts while simple drums, bass and guitar accompany. Kaplan’s speak-song style of singing that appears over many of the nine tracks truly adds to the intimacy of the lyrics and to the effect of both this song and of many of the others.
While there are very introspective and sincere moments, the majority of the themes touched on across the album follow the uncomfortable nature of some of the instrumentation heard early on. Minimalistic and abstract statements provoke questions about life itself in many instances. “Fallout” reflects on the passing of time and how nice it would be to relive what already exists, rather than having to face the unknown of the future. Similarly, the album’s mid-way point “Until It Happens” confronts the inevitability of death and how it’s hard to know how to react until it actually happens. Rather than telling the listener how to feel, these themes are introduced and then left hanging in the air with ambient instrumental sections to fill the space, which Ira Kaplan explained in an interview, saying “We really want people to listen and just react as they will; we’re not trying to steer them in one direction or another.”
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