Releases
YO LA TENGO - THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON 2 LP / CD IN STORES MARCH 16
Yo La Tengo’s new album There’s a Riot Going On will be released March 16th on Matador Records. This is a warm, ambitious record, a striking self-produced creation from one of the most celebrated and adventurous bands in rock history, whose dynamic range touches on pure noise and serene beauty and everything in between.
To showcase the full depth of this fearless fifteen-track album, Yo La Tengo have released four new songs (‘You Are Here’, ‘Shades of Blue’, ‘She May, She Might’, and ‘Out of the Pool’).
Following their sold-out eight night run of Hanukkah shows in NYC this past December, Yo La Tengo commence their world tour on March 28th. They return to Canada for a show March 31st at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre and continue with UK and European dates through April and May.
There’s A Riot Going On is available on US import CD, double vinyl and an Indie exclusive on orange vinyl.
“A quarter-century hasn’t diluted their chemistry an ounce.” – NPR
The four offerings from There’s a Riot Going On find Yo La Tengo explore an array of sounds.
“You Are Here” is a sprawling instrumental that builds from a lone drone into a dreamy mix of guitars and synths that swirl above a steady, but subtle, stomp of percussion.
“Shades of Blue” is a folky tune that veers slyly into the hypnotic as Georgia Hubley meditates on loneliness and heartbreak: “Choosing the color/ for my particular point of view/ Just kidding myself/ They’re all shades of blue.”
“She May She Might,” Yo La Tengo further play with elements of psychedelia as Ira Kaplan croons sweetly amidst a melange of rich guitar, airy synths, steady bass and the soft patter of drums.
“Out of the Pool,” Yo La Tengo mix these mind-bending qualities with a twinge of funk reminiscent of their new album’s namesake, Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On”.- Rolling Stone
There’s a riot going on. You don’t need me, or Yo La Tengo, to tell you that. These are dark times, in our heads as much as in the streets. It’s easy to lose contact with the ground, flying through endless banks of storm clouds day after day. Confusion and anxiety intrude into daily life and cause you to lose your compass. There are times that call for anthems, something to lift you out of your slump and put fire in your feet. And then there are times when what is indicated is a balm, a sound that will wrap around you and work out the knots in your neck.
While there’s a riot going on, Yo La Tengo will remind you what it’s like to dream. The sound burbles and washes and flows and billows. If records were dedicated to the cardinal elements, this one would be water. There are shimmery hazes, spectral rumbles, a flash of backward masking, ghostly flamingos calling “shoo-bop shoo-bop.” You are there. And even if your mind is not unclouded—shaken, misdirected, out of words and out of time—you can still float, ride the waves of an ocean deeper than your worries, above the sound.
For Yo La Tengo this is a slow-motion action painting, and Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan and James McNew did it all themselves, in their rehearsal studio, with no outside engineer (John McEntire later did the mix). They did not rehearse or jam together beforehand; they turned on the recorder and let things coalesce. Songs came together over long stretches, sometimes as much as a year going by between parts. You’d never guess this, since the layers are finessed with such a liquid brush. You’d imagine most of the songs had sprung forth whole, since they will enter your head that way. Within two listens you will be powerless to resist the magnetic draw of “Shades of Blue,” will involuntarily hear “She May, She Might” on your internal jukebox first thing in the morning and “Let’s Do It Wrong” late at night. While there’s a riot going on you will feel capable of bobbing through like a cork.
Selections:
1. You Are Here
2. Shades of Blue
3. She May, She Might
4. For You Too
5. Ashes
6. Polynesia #1
7. Dream Dream Away
8. Shortwave
9. Above the Sound
10. Let’s Do It Wrong
11. What Chance Have I Got
12. Esportes Casual
13. Forever
14. Out of the Pool
15. Here You Are
