Music: POPULAR SONGS ~ YO LA TENGO

It pains me to write this, but the latest release from YLT is kinda… boring. And derivative. Derivative as in echoes of the Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B” in “When It’s Dark”, and classic Motown in the opening of “If It’s True” (although there is some nice organ playing in there as well). The three epics that close the album - “More Stars Than There Are In Heaven” (9:39), “The Fireside” (11:25), and “And The Glitter is Gone” (15:24) - redeem it somewhat.