Summer Sun

There was a time when Yo La Tengo were all about the guitars. They squawked, they buzzed, they rang out hummable hooks, they bled with feedback, but there was no mistaking that the New Jersey-based indie rockers loved their six-strings. Somewhere along the line this changed, and by their 12th record, Summer Sun, guitars are merely another instrument in the trio’s warm wash of sound. Keyboards, strings, woodwinds, and horns do wonders, adding to the atmosphere of the swirling “Let’s Be Still,” while drummer Georgia Hubley adds subtle percussive touches. Ira Kaplan’s voice is as deadpan as ever, but he gets plenty out of it: On “Nothing But You and Me” it sounds ominous over a track that’s packed with the portent of a summer storm; on “Season of the Shark” it’s generous and soothing, hovering above an understated melody. Yo La Tengo albums used to slap you in the face. Now they merely tap you on the shoulder, but more than ever, they’re worth paying attention to.