On the Record: Yo La Tengo and Beyoncé

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Posted: 9/5/06

Yo La Tengo
I am Not Afraid of You and I will Beat Your Ass
on Matador Records

A

I am Not Afraid of You and I will Beat your Ass is one hell of a title for an ambitious, pink-covered album. Spanning 76 minutes, this new Yo La Tengo joint reaches the same musical velocity as The White Album, with half as much goofing around. The disc is a testament to Yo La Tengo's melodic sensibilities, and with it the Hoboken trio has created its best and most consistent album since the classic I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.

Watch as Yo La Tengo revives old, new and borrowed song styles. I am Not Afraid's tracks are bookended by two stellar 10-plus-minute jams, reminding us of the band's very distorted Painful days ("Pass the Hatchet, "I Think I'm Goodkind," "The Story of Yo La Tengo"). The disc also features Yo La Tengo's first forays into horn-drenched piano pop ("Beanbag Chair," "Mr Tough"). The album even features a James McNew ballad à la John Cale's essential Paris 1919 ("Black Flowers") and shows the band reaching into their Nuggets box set for some garage rock kicks ("Watch out for Me Ronnie", "Point and Shoot").

Although I am Not Afraid's sequencing is somewhat questionable-the dreamy nine-instrumental "Daphnia" breaks the album in two-it showcases a band that has proved itself one of the most vibrant and fun acts to survive the '90s. They have turned away from the reverb-laced smog of depression that perfectly encompassed "…And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out and clogged its follow-up Summer Sun." They have also returned loud guitars to the forefront of almost half of the disc's songs, reviving an aesthetic unheard since "Cherry Chapstick."

Yo La Tengo is a band that knows and respects its rock 'n' roll history. Appropriately, much of the album's flavor is cultivated by a feeling of déjà vu, not only because of the swabs of classic Yo La Tengo ("The Race is On Again"), but also through its amalgamation of the band's favorite artists, including Sonic Youth, The Kinks, R.E.M., The Flamin' Groovies and Velvet Underground. The best bands know from whom they're pilfering and still can bring something new to the table. Yo La Tengo is no exception.

Here, Yo La Tengo returns to its past for inspiration and still comes up with real, novel songs, not just atmosphere or noise or "SexyBack." I am Not Afraid of You and I will Beat Your Ass is the perfect title for a classic, rock album.

-Benjamin Yakas

Beyoncé
B'day
on BMG Records

B

At some point during the last few years, Destiny's Child became Beyoncé Knowles's mere extracurricular occupation, and her other duties-her fledgling movie career and foray into solo-artistry-dominated the attention-span of the pop-mainstream. Tough luck for Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, who along with Knowles were the closest thing to our generation's Supremes; their 2004 "reunion" disc, Destiny Fulfilled, failed to hold a candle to either Beyoncé's excellent "Crazy in Love" or the diva's emerging superstardom.

While Beyoncé is no Diana Ross, B'day is an excellent sophomore outing that's a far cry from her bubblegum days with Destiny's. Superficially, it's a confusing package: a mere 10 songs purportedly written and recorded in two weeks. The single "Ring the Alarm" seems emblematic of that decision. Beyoncé's never sounded this unhinged-drenched in dissonance, her ireful vocals recall Kelis' "Caught Out There," which also pulled no punches as it assaulted an unfaithful lover. "Ring the Alarm," which was produced by Swizz Beatz, is as frantic as it is panicked; Beyoncé's completely out of character here, and it's a rush.

Curiously, the rest of the album sounds much more deliberate-too clean to have been produced so quickly-though no less intelligent. First single "Déjà Vu" channels a far more casual funk than "Crazy in Love"-it's an obvious sequel to that caterwauling masterpiece, which so brilliantly sampled The Chi-Lites' "Are You My Woman?" "Déjà Vu" also features Beyoncé's man Jay-Z, but refuses to wear its hook on its sleeve. The arrangement and beats weave much more elegantly and subtly around Beyoncé's vocals. The song never reaches the soaring heights of "Crazy in Love"-nor does anything else on B'day-but somehow, that never seems like a shortcoming, or even a concern to Knowles. Ultimately, that's what makes this her strongest album yet.

-Jonathan Fischer