At My Leisure

Yo La Tengo “Polynesia #1”

The new Yo La Tengo record is full of negative space, which makes it feel loose and airy, but also empty and hollow. The sounds they choose feel deliberate but instinctive, the way a cartoonist can suggest a great deal of character and detail with carefully place lines on a white page. The lead guitar part in “Polynesia #1” sounds like a line curving through the song, angular but not jagged. Georgia Hubley’s vocal is typically soft and gentle, but not in way that signals passivity. She sounds forthright and purposeful, like someone doing what they have to do to maintain a peaceful and relaxed state of mind. Her tone is like a bit of gestural shading that casts the clean lines of the guitar in relief.

Buy it from Amazon.