REVIEWSYo La Tengo, ‘I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass’

8

• SPIN Rating:8 of 10

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Label: Island

Two decades on, Yo La Tengo remain true to their Velvet Underground roots, leading off I Am Not Afraid with "Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," a magnificent ten-minute tsunami of guitar noise. Elsewhere, Ira Kaplan's crew opts for diversity, flitting gracefully from ornery psychobilly to falsetto soul to twinkling folk rock. But that opening salvo -- and its furious twin, "The Story of Yo La Tango" -- are the tracks you'll return to again and again.

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