Fade
CD
on
Matador Records
Cat No:
OLE994
, Stk Ref
79762
Released on: 02 February 2013
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Magazine Review
Old enough to have had the grandchildren over for the Christmas holidays, , Yo La Tengo decide against ageing on 'Fade'. After the workout of 'Ohm', a rehearsal track that kickstarts 'Fade', 'Is That Enough?' puts the trio in the company of a small chamber orchestra. This little surplus in sound carries some of the other tracks on 'Fade' to greater heights. 'Well You Better' brings back the tambourine in ditty lullaby style.
Confused perhaps by Velvet Underground melancholy, the first moments of genuine excitement on 'Fade' come from the Peter Hook bass riff dependent track 'Paddle Forward' and from then on, by the hand of Dio, Yo La Tengo do away with that dizzy, quasi Americana. Georgia Hubley finally joins in the singing on 'Stupid Things'.
Challenging the memory of John Fahey and Leo Kottke alike, on 'I'll Be Around', whilst veering towards wilful songwriting euthanasia, 'Fade' bodes a farewell to the expectations, once raised by 'Fakebook'. 'Cornelia and Jane' provides the next fine moment of melodic loveliness when Hubley takes the lead on the microphone.
Ira Kaplan shows a touch of his gentle, perhaps feminine side on the tender folk pop songs 'Two Trains' and 'The Point of It', though this paves the way, to fade to his better half with Hubley's firmly sung 'Before We Run'. The general tone is an eerie and a very slow one nonetheless. Catchy from the "too too too" chorus of the opening track, 'Fade' brings back Yo La Tengo in fine form.
Maarten Schiethart
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