The problem with Hoboken outfit Yo La Tengo (roughly translated as Spanish for "I got it" in baseball terminology) is that, despite their low-fi charm they have an abundance of gobsmacking pretension. The first song, Night Falls On Hoboken, is a big drone from start to finish, and when singer/guitarist Ira Kaplan begins to fastidiously coax feedback from the monitors, you know this is a creche course for the ravers, and no mistake.
Still, at least Yo La Tengo have a sense of humour to offset their more ludicrous moments. Instilled with a strong degree of New York irony, the obvious Big Apple references come from Velvet Underground/Sonic Youth, with a touch of Luna thrown in for good measure. The incongruity of the band members (schoolmarm drummer Georgia Hubley, ZZ Top roadie lookalike bass player James McNew and a singer who is a dead ringer for US comic actor, Adam Sandler) also adds a smidgen of smirk to proceedings.
It's with their lower key material that the trio triumph, however. A mixture of fragile vocals (from all three multi-disciplined members) and yearning tunes make parts of the evening pass by in a slow, thoughtful brushstroke kind of way. The other parts are stabs in the same canvas, but nowhere near as effective.
