Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Album: Condo Fucks / Fuckbook

Artist: Condo Fucks

Album: Fuckbook

Always up for a diversion, Yo La Tengo pseudonymously deliver their second covers album. A fitting counterpoint to 1990's Fakebook — which reaffirmed, in the midst of a noisier stretch of albums, that they could bring the quiet, this one does just the opposite, ripping out a lazy man's dozen tracks with one-take sloppy aplomb. This outta the garage approach might come as a mild surprise to those who follow the band only through their albums, but this is, of course, a side that YLT have always cultivated in their live shows (where their repertoire of covers is pretty monumental1) and on their WFMU all-request telethon appearances.

Given their encyclopedic knowledge of rock'n'roll obscurities, the picks here don't veer towards the obvious, but they're all good, catchy rockers. YLT usually do right when they follow their muse down different paths, and it works here.2

Track picks: 7 - "The Kid with the Replaceable Head" (Richard Hell & The Voidoids Cover), 9 - "So Easy Baby" (Zantees cover)


1 It would be a fun project to come up with a live companion piece to this. Ripping concert takes of "I Can't Seem to Make You Mine" and "Jesse's Girl" come to mind, just as a beginning.

2 Perhaps given that this is shouty rockers, it doesn't surprise too much that this album is a little light on tunes with Gerorgia on vox, which is understandable but still a bit sad.

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