Fallout

Yo La Tengo released a new song last November ahead of an album and a tour this year. Fallout sees Ira, Georgia and James slip right back into the mid- 90s sound of Painful and I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, a slow burning fuzzy thrum over which Ira sings softly, asking for help and looking for escape. The chords change exactly where you want them to, the drums kick along and the fuzzed up bassline pushes onwards.

Fallout sounds like it could morph into a song from their back catalogue at any moment, 1997's Sugarcube most obviously to these ears. Classic Yo La Tengo and authentic New York indie rock. 

Sugarcube

They've been in business since 1984 and are about to release their sixteenth album. The previous one was an album of instrumental ambient guitar music recorded around one microphone while following social distancing protocols in 2020. Yo La Tengo have reached a point where they can do what they like and if harking back to their mid 90s sound is where they are, more power to them. The new album, This Stupid World, is out on Matador in February.