| Summer Sun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 8, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | Nashville, United States | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 62:31 | |||
| Label | Matador | |||
| Producer | Roger Moutenot | |||
| Yo La Tengo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Summer Sun | ||||
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Summer Sun is the tenth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 8, 2003 by record label Matador.
Summer Sun was recorded in Nashville, United States. The album was mixed at Shelter Island in New York.[ citation needed ]
Georgia Hubley's mother, Faith Hubley, died right before the band started working on the album. The Hubley family piano went into Yo La Tengo's practice space in Jersey City, and became the center piece for the sound of the album. [1]
On the album's style, The A.V. Club reviewer Keith Phipps notes that "Summer Sun finds Yo La Tengo in a twilight mood, interspersing instrumentals and one elongated jam (the tellingly titled 'Let's Be Still') between atmospheric, quietly ingratiating pop songs." [2]
The cover is a double exposure photograph taken in a New Jersey parking lot.[ citation needed ]
Despite the title of the album, the cover shows the band wearing Winter coats. When asked about this odd juxtaposition, guitarist Ira Kaplan said: "We really need to get together with the Matador art department about that. We submitted eight rolls of film containing one shot after another of us in bathing suits. At the end of the session, the photographer requested one shot of us in our winter coats, "for his personal collection" we were assured. Imagine our dismay when the album came out." [3]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100 [4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | A [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| Mojo | [9] |
| NME | 8/10 [10] |
| Pitchfork | 6.0/10 [11] |
| Q | [12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Spin | B [14] |
Summer Sun has received a favorable reception from critics, though with several reviewers seeing it as a natural come-down from the heights of their previous records. It holds an approval rating of 77 out of 100 on Metacritic. [4]
Mojo called the album "A set of busy beautiful whispers; 62 minutes of exquisite suspended animation" [9] Alternative Press called it Yo La Tengo's "most challenging album to date". [15] Uncut wrote, "From the edge of the sea, back to the fringes of sleep, Summer Sun is uncommonly lovely". [16]
Greg Milner of Spin wrote: "Summer Sun sometimes sounds like a band treading water at low tide, but obsessively exploring the contours of a moment is what Yo La have been about from day one." [14] AllMusic's Heather Phares called it "an album that's as settled and smooth as the previous one was inventive and eclectic. [...] But, even though Yo La Tengo can still run circles around other groups even when they're running in place, compared to their best work Summer Sun is merely pleasant." [5] PopMatters ' Adrien Begrand wrote" "As good as Summer Sun is, and it's very good, it just doesn't quite have the timeless, magical quality that ...And Then Nothing had." [17]
Eric Carr of Pitchfork opined that the album "marks Yo La Tengo's first album since their 1986 debut, Ride the Tiger , to lack invention altogether." [11] Andrew Unterberger of Stylus Magazine echoed similar sentiments, writing "Summer Sun, while constantly very good, is never creative, inspiring or great. And sorry, guys, we've just come to expect better of you. It's more of a compliment than anything else, honestly." [18] Even more negative was Michael Chamy of The Austin Chronicle , writing "Most of Summer Sun is underwhelming to downright cringe-inducing." [19]
As of 2006, sales in the United States have exceeded 70,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [20]
All tracks are written by Yo La Tengo unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beach Party Tonight" | 3:06 | ||
| 2. | "Little Eyes" | Hubley | 4:18 | |
| 3. | "Nothing But You and Me" | Kaplan | 5:13 | |
| 4. | "Season of the Shark" | Kaplan | 4:27 | |
| 5. | "Today Is the Day" | Hubley | 5:33 | |
| 6. | "Tiny Birds" | McNew | 5:07 | |
| 7. | "How to Make a Baby Elephant Float" | Kaplan | 3:29 | |
| 8. | "Georgia vs. Yo La Tengo" | 3:56 | ||
| 9. | "Don't Have To Be So Sad" | Kaplan | 5:53 | |
| 10. | "Winter A Go-Go" | Hubley | 3:21 | |
| 11. | "Moonrock Mambo" | Kaplan | 4:49 | |
| 12. | "Let's Be Still" | Hubley, Kaplan | 10:22 | |
| 13. | "Take Care" | Alex Chilton | Hubley | 2:32 |
| Total length: | 62:31 | |||
Yo La Tengo is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew. In 2015, original guitarist Dave Schramm rejoined the band and appeared on their fourteenth album, Stuff Like That There.
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts.
The 6ths is a band created by Stephin Merritt, also the primary songwriter and instrumentalist behind The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. One story has it that the band was conceived when Merritt, observing that there was no tribute album dedicated to him, decided to make one himself. In the group, Merritt writes and plays songs which are then sung by other artists—a different artist on each track. It has so far produced two well-received albums and many different collaborations.
Ride the Tiger is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. It was released in 1986 by record label Coyote.
Georgia Hubley is an American percussionist, vocalist, and visual artist. She is one of the two founding members of the indie rock band Yo La Tengo, and is married to the group's other founding member, guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan, with whom she lives in New Jersey. The two would often see each other in record shops and at the same shows. Finding a common ground in music, and sharing a love of New York Mets baseball, they began hanging out and jamming together. They formed the band in 1984, and released their first album, Ride the Tiger, in 1986 on the Coyote label.
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 22, 1997, by Matador Records. It was produced by Roger Moutenot and recorded at House of David in Nashville, Tennessee. The album expands the guitar-based pop of its predecessor Electr-O-Pura to encompass a variety of other music genres, including bossa nova, krautrock, and electronic music. Most of the songs on the album deal with melancholy emotions and range from short and fragile ballads to long and open-ended dissonance.
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on February 22, 2000, by Matador Records. The album received acclaim from critics.
Painful is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1993 by record label Matador, their first for the label.
Electr-O-Pura is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on May 2, 1995, by record label Matador. The album received very positive reviews from music critics.
New Wave Hot Dogs is the second studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1987 by record label Coyote.
President Yo La Tengo is the third album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1989 by record label Coyote.
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is the eleventh full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on September 12, 2006 by record label Matador.
Dump is a vehicle for releasing the four-track home recordings of Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew. His recordings occasionally feature guest performers such as Sue Garner and Fontaine Toups. For live performances McNew has been joined at various times by Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, Todd Barry on drums, and David Ramirez on guitar.
They Shoot, We Score is a compilation soundtrack album by the band Yo La Tengo, released on September 5, 2008.
Popular Songs is the twelfth full-length album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released digitally, on CD, and double LP on September 8, 2009, by the Matador record label.
Fuckbook is an album released by indie rock band Yo La Tengo under the alias Condo Fucks in 2009. The band name comes from an inner sleeve listing fake albums and genre send-ups included in their 1997 album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Guitarist Ira Kaplan and drummer Georgia Hubley are credited on this album as Kid Condo and Georgia Condo, respectively. The Matador press release for the album creates a fictional backstory for the band that hints at the truth. The album is purportedly produced by Mutt Lange, mixed by Bob Clearmountain, and mastered by Greg Calbi, but this is unconfirmed and most likely part of the gag.
The discography of Yo La Tengo, an indie rock band based in Hoboken, New Jersey, consists of seventeen studio albums, six compilation albums, sixteen extended plays, twenty-two singles, two film score albums, four collaborative albums, and one album of cover songs.
Getaway is the fourth studio album by New Zealand group The Clean, released in 2001. The songs "Alpine Madness" and "Circle Canyon" feature contributions from Yo La Tengo members Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan.
Fade is the thirteenth full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. It was produced by John McEntire, instead of Roger Moutenot, who had produced all their albums since 1993's Painful. It was recorded at Soma in Chicago, in the summer of 2012. It was released on January 15, 2013.
This Stupid World is the seventeenth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on February 10, 2023 by Matador Records. It was recorded and produced by the band in their studio space intermittently between 2020 and 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic and represents their first effort self-producing. This Stupid World has received highly positive reviews from critics for the lyrics and musicianship, with several reviewers commenting on how strong the release is decades into the band's career. The album has been promoted with three single releases and a concert tour that took the band worldwide, including playing several festival dates.
