Yo La Tengo Electr-O-Pura (25th Anniversary) 2LP

For Electr-O-Pura's 25th anniversary, the 58 minute master has been expanded into a 2LP edition for the highest quality audio. Now in a gatefold sleeve.

Listeners may look back on Electr-O-Pura and say that this 1995 release ushered in the golden age of Yo La Tengo. Countless bands of the mid-'80s didn't last a decade, but these guys just kept getting better in terms of singing, writing, playing and production. Gorgeous electric guitar permeates this record, especially on the shimmering, smoky opener "Decora", and the seductive love song "Pablo & Andrea", which is pure guitar heaven, featuring lambent strumming, some nifty slide work, and a full-on blaring solo. Both of these numbers, incidentally, feature the solo vocals of Georgia Hubley, whose wonderfully unaffected singing is both poignant and stirring.

Electr-O-Pura remains one of the most beloved works in Ira, Georgia and James' catalog, and showed a stylistic range that at time was already bordering on the-very-difficult-to-keep-up-with (fast forward to 2020 and just say "impossible"). From the single "Tom Courtenay", to the woozy & beautiful "Pablo & Andrea", to the climatic 9 minute, 18 second blowout of "Blue Line Swinger", this album was nothing short of monumental in an era that wasn't short for competition.

Few bands have consistently better ideas than Yo La Tengo, and they make 14 of them work like a charm on Electr-O-Pura.

A subcultural tour de force.

In 1995, the indie rock trio lurched headlong into its own sound with Electr-O-Pura. Now, newly reissued on vinyl, the pop-focused and densely referential album remains a monument in the band's catalog.