If indie music fans had a classic rock radio station, Yo La Tengo would be a staple. Their eclecticism and constant push to innovate made them critical darlings for almost two decades, but responses to 2003's introspective Summer Sun were lukewarm. With I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, Yo La Tengo returns to form, revisiting past sounds while creating striking new ones in the process.
Like a lot of Yo La Tengo's most beloved albums, Beat Your Ass' most defining characteristic is its lack thereof. Ass is all over the musical map, but even during the most abrupt stylistic shifts, all of the songs retain Yo La Tengo's unmistakable mark. The band bristles with confidence on the opening track, ""Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind."" Steady drumming and a muscular bass line anchor 10 minutes of Ira Kaplan's feedback-drenched, absolutely massive-sounding guitar freak out. Fans yearning for the return of the unhinged, fuzzed-out fret work Yo La Tengo pioneered will be pleased.
On ""Goodkind"" and album closer ""The Story of Yo La Tengo,"" Kaplan reaffirms his place as one of the foremost indie rock guitar gods. Elsewhere on the album, the band takes a more subdued approach, pushing guitars deep into the background or getting rid of them entirely. The gorgeous, lilting melodies and lovely harmonies of ""Black Flowers"" wrap listeners like a warm blanket, and introduce them to Yo La Tengo's novel new instrumentation: piano and horn arrangements that come straight out of the Motown era.
On lead single ""Mr. Tough,"" a bouncing baby grand accompanies Kaplan as he breaks out into a surprisingly effective falsetto. After the first chorus, a horn section joins the party and further fuels the jazzy strut of the wildly successful track, a great example of how Yo La Tengo can deftly inject their unique identity into the myriad styles they absorb.
Fans of Yo La Tengo's pop experiments also have plenty to like on Beat You're Ass. ""The Room Got Heavy"" sounds like a drum circle conducted by German robots playing broken kitchen appliances.
On the rapturous album closer, ""The Story of Yo La Tengo,"" the gentle guitar, pulsing chords and droning synthesizers pleasantly wash over the listener—a calm beginning to one of Yo La Tengo's strongest and most defining songs yet. Moving from the subtle atmospherics the band perfected on earlier albums, ""Story"" builds into an epic tower of feedback, propulsive drum work and Kaplan's world-weary yet hopeful vocals.
With Beat Your Ass, Yo La Tengo proves that their story is far from over, demonstrating again why they are one of the most treasured and bands in independent music, dodging trends and always continuing to produce vital rock n' roll, gorgeous pop, inventive sonic experiments and, above all, timeless music.
