Albums to watch

Popular Songs

Yo La Tengo

Popular Songs

New Jersey's indie rock veterans with their first album in three years

ADM rating[?]

7.2

Label
Matador
UK Release date
07/09/2009
  1. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    What stops it from being an incongruous mishmash is the mood of intimacy and exuberance: you might be hanging out with them in their basement studio, sharing the jokes, shivering with delight
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  2. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    Popular Songs may not quite scale the same heights as those found on I Am Not Afraid Of You... or I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. It is, however, another really good album by Yo La Tengo. So, what's new?
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  3. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Popular Songs is as essential as anything Yo La Tengo have ever released, and perhaps even more so – an album that looks back at where they’ve been, smiles, and stares resolutely forward to what will come next.
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  4. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    It's a Yo La Tengo album for people who buy Yo La Tengo albums. How does it measure in their own canon? Pretty strongly. It's not a personal best for Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew, but it's probably better than their last two albums
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  5. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    This sounds like a classic rock record that harks back to the olden times, when artists would release records with the purpose of leaving a pleasant smile on the inexperienced listener's face – the thrill and excitement of listening to any new innovation for the first time.
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  7. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Print edition only

  8. 7.9 |   Pitchfork

    Can compete with anything since the band's heyday. It's easy to overlook the sound that's on display through the bulk of Popular Songs as more of the same, but it's also uniquely Yo La Tengo in a way that has taken 25 years to reach vintage status
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  9. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Yo La Tengo run from pretty acoustic sketches (""When It's Dark"") to the 16-minute noise freakout ""And the Glitter Is Gone,"" mixing up disparate sounds, if for no other reason than it feels good
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  10. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    Stylistically sprawling and experimental music can be fantastic in the right hands. As lesser bands come and go in the fickle landscape of indie rock, Yo La Tengo continue to excel. People may even forget how consistently solid they’ve been for so many years
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  11. 6.0 |   The List

    They’re unlikely to recruit new fans to the fold … feels a tad like YLT by numbers.
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  12. 6.0 |   The Observer

    Musical reference points are introduced and checked off.. and though the results are expertly crafted, they generally sound too studied to engage
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  13. 6.0 |   Q

    Print edition only


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Yo La Tengo: Popular Songs

  • Download full album for just £7.99
  • 1. Here To Fall £0.99
  • 2. Avalon or Someone Very Similar £0.99
  • 3. By Two’s £0.99
  • 4. Nothing To Hide £0.99
  • 5. Periodically Double or Triple £0.99
  • 6. If It’s True £0.99
  • 7. I’m On My Way £0.99
  • 8. When It’s Dark £0.99
  • 9. All Your Secrets £0.99
  • 10. More Stars Than There Are In Heaven £0.99
  • 11. The Fireside £0.99
  • 12. And The Glitter Is Gone £0.99
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