From its roots in Hoboken to its namesake as the Spanish translation of a baseball outfielder calling, “I got it,” Yo La Tengo emerges as a distinctly American band. In spite of this tradition and a nearly 30-year track record of releasing quality material, YLT has earned the undeserved reputation as a cult band with a narrow niche. The indie outfit’s 13th studio album shatters this perception, transcending the predictable formula that often comes with such lengthy existence. Fade instead becomes a universally appealing, whole, and startlingly vibrant LP that fails to exhibit a single weakness.
Fade breaks free from the monotone mentality, focusing on a flowing, organic narrative that deftly avoids the undesirable extremes of listener fatigue and disparate, distracting songs. “Ohm” takes off with pounding drums and rhythmic ambient guitar chords as band co-founder Ira Kaplan laments the ever-shifting tides of time and glorifies the necessity of a carpe diem mentality without resorting to such trite descriptors of his mission.
“Is That Enough” and “Well You Better” begin the process of applying this theme to the oft-visited microcosmic life of lovers, cleverly hinting at the conclusion of a relationship amid an upbeat rhythm backed by appearances of strings underscoring the chorus and a pinch of funk riffs in place of an expected guitar solo.
Continuing along this trajectory, Kaplan and cofounder Georgia Hubley’s vocals gradually fade to a level that allows the instrumental passages towards the middle of the LP to take over, at times obscuring the already muted lyrics. Instead of providing a needless distraction, the obfuscation forces the listener to engage in the melody while slowing the pace with a mellow, instrumentally simpler second half of the album.
“Two Trains” epitomizes this often hypnotic effect: heavy reverb dominates the percussion as floating synthesizers mask the echoing guitar chords that compete for the melody with Kaplan and Hubley’s warm whispers.
Though the momentum disappears in Fade towards the conclusion, the appeal by no means fades away; inherent instrumental energy is replaced by the melancholy yet strangely positive power of lyrics in the poignant life-is-a-journey message of tracks like “The Point of It” and the pained loss emanating from “Cornelia and Jane.”
“Before We Run” closes Fade with a horn and string medley that returns to the initial pace of the album, leaving the listener with a satisfying conclusion and an unquestionable truth: as the band’s name aptly proclaims, in spite of 29 years and 13 albums, Yo La Tengo has still got it.
