Pitchfork

After holing up over the fall and winter in a Nashville recording studio, Yo La Tengo have finally completed work on their eleventh full-length album, the long-awaited "official" follow-up to 2000's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out, and their first LP since last year's moody instrumental The Sounds of the Sounds of Science, a collection of film music to accompany the works of sealife documentarist Jean Painleve.

The album, appropriately titled Summer Sun, "finds [the band] exploring the sunny landscapes of summer, in every imaginable mode of music," according to the Matador website. "From the gorgeous 'Little Eyes' to the ten-minute jam 'Let's Be Still', this may be Yo La Tengo's most ambitious album to date." In a post to the official Matador message board yesterday, label Co-President Gerard Cosloy described the record as "a bit all over the musical map. It won't sound entirely out of place alongside And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out... a subtle stylistic shift, I'd say. Swinging stuff." Implications that he concluded by stroking his goatee, stuttering "da-da-daddio," and returning to the comforts of a fresh-lit jazz cigarette are as yet unconfirmed.

There's no mention on the website as to whether long-time YLT producer Roger Moutenot was on board for the sessions, or whether the band produced the record themselves. However, the first single, "Don't Have to Be So Sad", which is available for download at Matador's website, features a very similar ambiance to the band's last Matador release. What I'm saying is, it's anyone's guess. But! If Moutenot did get the ax, it will be the band's first release without his assistance since their 1992 release, May I Sing with Me. Summer Sun is scheduled for release on double-vinyl and compact disc April 8th. Tracklist:

01 Beach Party Tonight [3:06]
02 Little Eyes [4:18]
03 Nothing But You and Me [5:13]
04 Season of the Shark [4:27]
05 Today Is the Day [5:33]
06 Tiny Birds [5:07]
07 How to Make a Baby Elephant Float [3:29]
08 Georgia vs Yo La Tengo [3:56]
09 Don't Have to Be So Sad [5:53]
10 Winter A-Go-Go [3:21]
11 Moonrock Mambo [4:49]
12 Let's Be Still [10:22]
13 Take Care [2:32]

Yo La Tengo have already announced a few springtime tour dates at which they'll be playing songs from and otherwise supporting Summer Sun. Things kick off with a quick swing through the South in mid-March on their way to a performance at Austin, TX's annual music conference, South by Southwest. Then comes the full-fledged North American tour, which is scheduled to begin two days after the album's release at The Music Factory in Columbus, OH. More dates are still expected to be announced (at least we expect more dates-- so far, this is the scrawniest tour agenda since... uh, Cat Power's?) The band is also on board for the Matt Groening-curated edition of All Tomorrow's Parties, to take place on June 21st in Los Angeles.

03-10 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
03-11 Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club
03-12 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03-14 Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ [SXSW Showcase]
04-10 Columbus, OH - Music Factory
04-11 Cincinnati, OH - Southgate House
04-12 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
04-14 Toronto, ON - The Phoenix
04-16 Boston, MA - The Roxy
04-18 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
04-19 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
04-20 Towson, MD - Recher Theater
04-24 Providence, RI - Lupo's
04-25 New York, NY - Beacon Theater
06-21 Los Angeles, CA - All Tomorrow's Parties