A misnomer

If you are curious about Yo La Tengo (and why wouldn't you be - your're reading this) then might I suggest to you that 'Painful' would be a good place to start your exploration? This is a brilliant and somewhat understated album, full of wonderful moments, and serves as a lovely introduction to the group.

'Painful' was the first Yo La Tengo album I bought, back in 1993 (the release date above is incorrect). I had read a couple of good reviews in Spin magazine and so checked them out for myself. As with most of Yo La Tengo's work, it took a fair few spins before I 'got it'. But once you get it (i.e. once you are more familiar with their approach and know the songs a bit) they are actually somewhat easier to appreciate - a case of the more you know, the better you like it.

As an example, take the opening song 'Big Day Coming'. There are actually two takes of the song on the album (an old Yo La Tengo trick). The first is very slow, and an odd way to lead off an album. The more times you hear it, however, the more interesting and powerful it seems. The little details seem to become clearer, and the guitar feedback seems to add a great deal of texture and emotional impact to a song that might otherwise seem very static. The second take of the song is a very fast tempo version with feedback-laden guitars (in fact the guitars feed back so much that the whole track seems to 'throb' - you need to hear it to understand really) and serves as an interesting counterpoint.

The whole of the album is like this - a fascinating and engaging vision of music that is utterly unlike anyone else's today. I've often thought that if the Velvet Underground had stayed together, they would have sounded like Yo La Tengo. High praise indeed.