This sprawling, ambitious album is Yo La Tengo's 16th, and marks their 25th anniversary. It is also a new culmination for a career that has been swinging upwards again since 2006's I Am Not Afraid of You. a new generation of fans is discovering one of the most influential and intriguing bands in late-20th and early 21st-century rock 'n' roll. This is the definitive Yo La Tengo album. Popular Songs crosses a ton of different styles while marking a musical journey through pop history AND the band's history. It ranges from the foreboding wah-wah of the opener, Here to Fall, to the gorgeous, Georgia-sung Avalon Or Something Very Similar, to the concise, Ramones-driven summer anthem Nothing to Hide, and then to the three, very long songs that close the album, ending with the 16-minute drone freak out jam, And the Glitter Is Gone.