Fade
by Yo La Tengo

From buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/18/2017 20:27 | #201603 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Yo La Tengo is one of the most consistent bands of their generation, releasing album after album of catchy indie rock that always sounds recognizably like Yo La Tengo without being overly repetitive. The subtly adventurous Fade rates as an above-average Yo La Tengo album, highlighted by the opener "Ohm," which combines many of the elements that make the band so successful at what they do: affable, jangly guitars that gradually gain in noise and intensity, while the vocal harmonies blend into a kind of mantra embodying the song's title. The result is just about as good as anything the band has ever recorded, and that's saying something.

Not quite as good as "And then nothing..." or "I'm not afraid of you..." but it's very close. It's a warm and melodic album that is consistently strong. They do intimate, melodic songwriting and more hypnotic groove based tracks equally well. Yo la Tengo are a reliably good and undervalued band. I think this is because they are so understated, but this is also their charm.

From ghosttomost 05/21/2014 23:04 | #112533 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Proving that they are not ones to become complacent and stale, Yo La Tengo bust out Fade with some of their most interesting material to date. "Ohm" is an absolute standout and unlike anything the band has ever attempted before in their catalogue. Changing direction without losing heart is a difficult task for most bands, but YLT show once again that they are able to adapt their sound without abandoning their fundamental components. By my reckoning, this is the band's 9th consecutive great album, firmly cementing them as the greatest band on the planet.

Plenty of great songs here that got under my skin. Overall the album has a cool temperament, like a lot of Yo La Tengo's music, which can seem dispassionate and detached, the way old Brazilian bossa nova sounded in the 60s, defying the heat and torment of the historical moment, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the songs are just very very good.

The best Yo La Tengo album I've heard, at once poppy and accessible, yet nicely understated. I genuinely think they've finally got a good grasp on the sound they've been striving to achieve for years now (although admittedly I've not heard their entire catalogue). A very pleasant surprise.