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By Chris Pacifico
Having been together for 22 years and what is now their tenth full-length, Hoboken's Yo La Tengo is still showing no signs whatsoever of running low on gas. In the realm of indie rock, so many fans and critics alike are always curt to brand a band with a made-up label or just about any other pigeonhole that can be pulled out of the air. But Yo La Tengo is still as genre-defying as they've ever been and remain able to carry a sonic distinction that nobody can emulate in this day and age when so much music is released that all sounds the same. Sure, their trademark sound consists of elastic ambient pop druthers, tepid melodies, a syrupy ebb and flow, and colorful droning, but all of those elements are like big balls of clay with which Yo La Tengo can sculpt their own ingenious molds.
With illuminating moments of piano pop ("Beanbag Chair") and cinematic wafting ("I Feel Like Going Home"), I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass effervesces in Yo La Tengo's own trademark manner, which can be hazily frolicking and congealed at times. Also included is some smarmy bossa nova on "Mr. Tough," with enough cowbell for Christopher Walken to get his rocks off, and the soulful AM pop of "Sometimes I Don't Get You."
This time around, Yo La Tengo is more generous with their serving portions of bubbly acid-house infusions and the timeless kitschy squelch of the Farfisa organ, especially with the meandering bongos of "The Room Got Heavy." Here, Yo La Tengo moves at a rather unhurried pace, but they have taken the approach that a good barbecue chef adheres to when making a rack of ribs - slow cooking brings out all of the flavors it has to offer.
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