And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out [Import]

Those of you who are fond of recreational pharmaceuticals please be warned.If you plan on buying this album (if you can drag yourself away from Trance Nation 2004 that is )please do not listen to whilst high. Because you might never come back down- lost forever in a swirling vortex of hushed, breathy vocals and gently carousing instrumentation. There have been two dozen Yo La Tengo induced comas reported in the last twlve months in Britain alone. Dont let this put you off though, for this is possibly one of the most wonderful albums ever made. Right from the very start, as a disembodied heart beats steadily, you are encased in a bubble of lush strings and plaintive emotions as the five minute songs gently lull you into submission, and you stop whatever it was you were doing and just sit there, eyes closed, mouth slightly agape- transfixed and utterly paralysed. So complete is this inertia that when the calm is broken by the feedback drenched squall of " Cherry Chapstick " it feels as if you have been hit round the head with a frying pan, jolted suddenly back into the world and forced to sit up straight. Immediately after though, peace is resumed, and you soon find yourself cocooned for the langurous finale as Night Falls on Hoboken, and the whole world. The first half of the album is the strongest, and in "Tears are in Your Eyes" is crafted a pop song so beautiful and haunting it can (and has) made grown men weep. Some people may find it too slow and become fidgety, concerned with the lack of crunchy guitar hooks, but I really cannot recommend this album stongly enough to anyone with a pulse, I guarantee you'll listen to it everyday.

It starts with a beat, like a heart but more discordant, a nod to the last overlong and oblique album title. "Everyday" tries its best to stay remote, and succeeds. You wonder why they've opened with this, its slow, a monotone. You'd call it a dirge, but you don't like to think Yo La Tengo do dirges. So you stick with it, all six minutes, and wonder if you'll be rewarded. You are. And how. Its no exaggeration to say that the sublimely beautiful "Our Way To Fall" captures perfectly the playful choreographing of two lovers coming together for the first time, its brushed drums and breathy vocals marching to a slow-time to-and-fro waltz. By now you're in for the ride. Yo La Tengo are in love and so are you. Ira plucks up the courage for the first dance ("Last Days Of Disco"), initial awkwardness giving way to give-in-to-the-moment contentedness. "the song said 'let's be happy'. I was happy"... Yo La Tengo fight, but tenderly. Love wins out on "The Crying Of Lot G". Ira talks us through an argument, or rather finds his voice after the slamming of the door. He's preparing his speech for when, moments later, mistakes are realised and forgiven. "Don't have to smile at me, don't have to talk, all that I ask is you stop and remember, it isn't always this way"... Like the tentative dance moves, words become simpler and simpler the more the truth unfolds: "the way that I feel when you laugh, is like laughing; the way that I feel when you cry, is so bad..." Georgia understands too, gently redressing the balance with "Tears Are In Your Eyes", a song seemingly written to make grown men weep. Along the way, our hosts pick up the pace to laugh at The Simpsons ("Let's Save Tony Orlando's House"), turn cheesy 70s pop into a relentless human beatbox ("You Can Have It All") and beat Sonic Youth at their own game ("Cherry Chapstick"). But it's the slow, languid ones that will stick with you, until Yo La Tengo put you to bed with "Night Falls On Hoboken". Its 2am on a hot summer's night and Yo La Tengo are sitting out on the porch, casting their gaze to the stars and each other, like the man on the cover seemingly enveloped in light. They could end here, but ah, what the hell, they decide, lets roll on into the night. It doesn't stop because the world's gone to bed. Hell, when you're in love, the magic never stops. Leaving you with a smile on your face. Every day.

I needed a little bit of convincing to like this record, but I perceived and was rewarded. After the first couple of plays you will wonder what all the fuss is about, although in the back of you mind parts linger and gradually with more exposure it will all fall in to place. All the tracks (excluding the last '17mins!') are warm and understated without ever being sweet, with the album drifting along in a hushed whisper. Not one for the car or the walkman, but a pot of coffee and the sunday papers.