Fade

Description

Fade is the most direct, personal and cohesive album of Yo La Tengos career. Recorded with John McEntire at Soma Studios in Chicago, it recalls the sonic innovation and lush cohesion of career high points like 1997s I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One and 2000s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. Fade is a tapestry of fine melody and elegant noise, rhythmic shadow play and shy-eyed
orchestral beauty, songfulness and experimentation.

Fade attains a lyrical universality and hard-won sense of grandeur thats rare even for this band. It weaves themes of aging, personal tragedy and emotional bonds into a fully-realized whole that recalls career-defining statements like Blood On The Tracks, I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight or Al Greens Call Me.

Nothing ever stays the same / Nothings explained, the band sing in unison on the reflective opening track Ohm. We try not to lose our hearts / Not to lose our minds a straightforward sentiment for a band that prefer private intimation to forceful expression, making the songs resistance to resignation feel that much more earned.

This is the first time Yo La Tengo have collaborated with producer John McEntire, best known for his work in post-rock band Tortoise as well as his work with such artists as Bright Eyes, Stereolab and Teenage Fanclub. He has helped the band hone a set of songs as multifaceted as they are seamless, flowing from the low key shimmy of Well You Better to the muted motorik kick of Stupid Things, to the cozy distortion of Paddle Forward and right through to the cagey groove, horns and strings of the gorgeous album closer, Before We Run, in which the bands Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan sing Take me to your distant lonely place / Take me out beyond mistrust.

Fades emotional core sits at its very centre with two songs, one sung by Kaplan and one by Hubley. The tender, raw, Kaplan-sung ballad Ill Be Around pivots around a circular guitar figure set against James McNews calm, pulsating bassline. The songs simplicity and starkness stand like a beacon against the emptiness.

Cornelia And Jane features Hubley gently singing I hear them whispering, they analyse, but nobody knows whats lost in your eyes / Sending the message that doesnt get to you, how can we care for you?, supported by whispering cushions of horns and delicate vocal harmonies. The effect is both heartbreaking and reassuring.

In the best possible sense, Yo La Tengo can feel less like a band and more like a beloved national trust Stereogum

Special deluxe edition LP + 7 format exclusively available to independent retailers.

The deluxe LP comes in a numbered edition printed on rainbow foil with a bonus 7 featuring two exclusive covers: I Saw The Light (Todd Rundgren) and Move To California (Times New Viking), plus an MP3 download accompanying the deluxe edition including an additional 11 minute jam as a bonus track.