Hear Yo La Tengo Preview Upcoming Album With Four New Songs

[Rolling Stone]

Indie veterans plot March release for ‘There’s a Riot Going On’

By Jon Blistein

Veteran indie outfit Yo La Tengo unveiled four new songs from their upcoming album, There’s a Riot Going On, out March 16th via Matador. The album is available to pre-order, with new tracks “You Are Here,” “Shades of Blue,” “She May, She Might” and “Out of the Pool” available to hear now.

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.”

On “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.

And on “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.

Yo La Tengo crafted There’s a Riot Going On during spontaneous sessions in their rehearsal space. Instead of making demos, songs were written slowly over lengthy stretches, and many were stitched together using parts from rejected film scores or discarded tracks. The band all produced the album, with John McEntire mixing it.

There’s a Riot Going On marks Yo La Tengo’s first LP of all new material since 2013’s Fade. In 2015, the band released Stuff Like That There, which included some new material, covers and reworked versions of their own old tunes.

Yo La Tengo will embark on a North American tour this spring in support of There’s a Riot Going On. The first leg begins March 28th in Minneapolis and wraps with a two-night stand in Nashville, April 13th and 14th. Following a European tour, Yo La Tengo will return for a round of West Coast dates starting May 31st in Seattle and wrapping June 9th in Los Angeles.

There’s a Riot Going On Track List

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”