Albums to watch

This Stupid World

Yo La Tengo

This Stupid World

Seventeenth full-length album from the Hoboken, New Jersey indie rock stalwarts

ADM rating[?]

7.9

Label
Matador
UK Release date
10/02/2023
US Release date
10/02/2023
  1. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    Sixteenth album sees New Jersey trio reverting to their signature sound, consolidating their position as alternative treasures
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  2. 8.6 |   Beats Per Minute

    Legacy also plays a large part in how the band approach This Stupid World, using it to recall specific moments from their past while also speaking to a broader historical perspective
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  3. 8.5 |   Pitchfork

    On their liveliest album in at least a decade, indie rock’s most steadfast institution squares up against ubiquitous darkness
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  4. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    An instant classic? Remains to be seen. Unforgettable? Perhaps. An album with flashes of pure rock and roll splendor from a band that’s super talented and not afraid to take chances? Absolutely!
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  5. 8.0 |   Paste Magazine

    Yo La Tengo has always been an introverted band, both musically and in the fans they attract, but This Stupid World is a particularly introverted record, even by their standards
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  6. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    A quintessential YLT album – but this time, even as Ira Kaplan is wringing his guitar for noise, drummer/vocalist Georgia Hubley is turning down the volume
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  7. 8.0 |   Gigwise

    Anxiety and acceptance battle it out
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  8. 8.0 |   XS Noize

    The record manages to be hauntingly poignant yet resilient in the face of the continuous passing of time
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  9. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    The delivery method for these morbid messages includes mid-tempo ballads, scuzzy indie rock and beguiling electronica
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  10. 8.0 |   Clash

    There aren’t many bands that produce such genuine, creative, consistent music over this length of time, ‘This Stupid World’ is another wonderful instalment in their extensive catalogue
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  11. 8.0 |   The Observer

    The New Jersey trio regain an edge of unpredictability while maintaining their warm sound on their 16th record
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  12. 8.0 |   All Music

    This Stupid World doesn't pretend all is roses again, but it finds a lot more room for joy and engaging with your muse. If the world is still stupid outside of Yo La Tengo's headquarters, inside they're making worthy art to share with us, and we can all be grateful for that
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  13. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    On This Stupid World, Yo La Tengo proves they are still relevant arbiters of rock
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  14. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Reflective and funny, Yo La Tengo would be forgiven for recording endless victory laps at this point. Instead, they continue to defy
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  15. 8.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Wide-ranging and full of thoughtful lyricism focused on the passage of time, life, and death, This Stupid World is exactly the album I’d hoped Yo La Tengo could and would release in 2023
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  16. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    A record like this makes easing towards the abyss feel a little less painful
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  17. 8.0 |   Uncut

    This is familiar YLT, but that's certainly not a complaint. Even with two-thirds of the band in their mid-sixties, a childlike quality remains. Print edition only

  18. 8.0 |   Mojo

    The group's most exciting, most engaged, most breathtaking album this century. Print edition only

  19. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Eschewing the restraint that has largely characterised their post-millennium output, This Stupid World wastes little time in demonstrating fretboard fireworks
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  20. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    There’s a great range of textures and timbres scattered throughout, however the elements required – tonally and thematically – to unify this work are effortlessly applied and done so in a way that has always felt instinctive across Yo La Tengo’s artistry
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  21. 7.0 |   American Songwriter

    There’s very little here that’s as clear-cut as the overall messaging might imply. Nevertheless, it’s clear that This Stupid World still manages to impart wisdom and reflection in equal and apt measures
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  22. 7.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    As the foreboding passage of time looms overhead, Yo La Tengo meet it with their signature romantic recipe: levity, a bit of gentle reflection and a dose of absurdism
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  23. 6.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Maudlin and distracted vocals, fuzzy guitars and spacey vibes predominate on tunes that seem to be firmly aimed at the head rather than the hips
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