''Painful'' is the sixth studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James M ...

, released in 1993 by record label

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

, their first for the label.

Content

The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work, blending atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams. ''Painful'' features a much more melody-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, dream-like songwriting. Two versions of the track "Big Day Coming" are present on the album and display the range of musical stylings Yo La Tengo works with; the first version features a simple organ melody accompanied by a soft bass counterpoint and Kaplan's guitar feedback echoing in the background, while the second version is a much more straightforward,

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

style with an accompanying organ solo towards the latter part of the song.

Release

On 2 December 2014, the album was reissued with bonus material as ''Extra Painful'', available on double CD, double vinyl and as a digital download.

Track listing

; Notes * An exact reproduction of the original single Shaker 7" came with the vinyl edition. * 15 additional bonus tracks were available for download

Personnel

Georgia Hubley Georgia Hubley is an American percussionist, vocalist, and visual artist. She is one of the two founding members of the indie rock band Yo La Tengo, and is married to the group's other founding member, guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan, with whom ...

– drums, percussion, vocals, guitar, organ *

Ira Kaplan Ira Kaplan (born January 7, 1957) is a co-founder, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter in the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. He is married to the band's co-founder Georgia Hubley. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Kaplan formed Yo La T ...

– vocals, guitar, organ, percussion *

James McNew James McNew is an American musician. He has been the bass player for the rock band Yo La Tengo since their 1992 album, '' May I Sing with Me''. He was previously a member of the band Christmas, being featured on their third album ''Vortex''. H ...

– bass, vocals, guitar, percussion

References

External links

* 1993 albums Yo La Tengo albums Matador Records albums {{1990s-indie-rock-album-stub