EASE DOWN THE ROAD

The uncharacteristicly confrontational title – like the cover and the 15 tracks found within – works as a puzzle forever meant to be left open to interpretation. The nearly 11-minute opening track, “Pass the Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind,” is a fuzzy, groove-based rocker full of long-missed Kaplan solos and subtle compositional shifts for special folks with John Zorn tattoos across their hearts. There’s no puzzle with this song; it’s a clear homage to long-form, guitar-based rock – not unsimilar to some of Sonic Youth’s work in the late 90s and surely a nod to anyone who has ever loved the VU’s White Light/White Heat album. That’s the first hint.

“Mr. Tough” sounds like an upgrade to “Dog on Wheels,” the best song Belle & Sebastian have released thus far in their career. With its bouncy rhythms and textured arrangements (complete with trumpet, saxophone and piano) the song is, to sunshiny ears, sure to be one of the top contenders for the coveted track one spot on any cool kid’s 2006 mixtape. “Black Flowers,” hip references in tow, could stand next to any Canadian indie-pop band’s best work. (In the spirit of dropping hints, let us just compare this one to those Broken Social Scene kids.)

Not Afraid’s tracklist is a bit perplexing – if not completely exigent – particularly for casual or new listeners. Oddly, the Hoboken, New Jersey trio open and close the album with fuzzy guitar rockers that surpass the 10-minute mark. (Rumor has it that Thick-Crusted Jukebox was nearly the title of this, the band’s 13th proper studio album.)

Aside from the nine-minute “Daphnia,” which works as the slice in Not Afraid’s sandwich, the remainder of the album is full of three- to five-minute mostly-accessible genre-bending tunes. So basically, if you can get through the challenging opener and Sigur Ros-esque midpoint, it’s an easy  ide to the finish. Those who do make it to the end are rewarded with one of the band’s best songs yet, “The Story of Yo La Tengo,” which nearly  its the 12-minute mark. (And no, it couldn’t stand to be one second shorter.)Other reference points include The Wrens, The New Pornographers,  he Decemberists and pretty much every other band you can fit on your shiny new 80-gig iPod. Yes, Yo La Tengo sound kind of like … everyone.  nd it’s not out of laziness; it’s all by design. All four-and-a-half thousand seconds or so. Old fans will also be comforted to know that songs like  The Race is On Again” could easily sound at home on the band’s signature album, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.

So what’s the deal with all the comparisons? After all, Yo La Tengo have always been known as a very unique indie-pop band. So why start comparing them to every group to ever grace the cover of CMJ at this point in their storied career? Easy, read the title. Yo La Tengo – sweet and cuddly as they are – have posed a pretty serious challenge to their contemporaries. In a way, they’re saying, “We can sound kinda like you, only a whole lot better.” And what’s so wrong with that?

Everything. That is, unless you do it as well as Hubley, Kaplan and bassist James McNew have on their latest opus. Being the ceaseless music fans they are, Hubley, Kaplan and McNew simply love paying unabashed tribute to other people’s music and have done so to great effect on both Fakebook and Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics, their two well received covers-only albums.

Chances are, listeners won’t feel as though Kaplan and Co. have beat the black-framed crowd’s ass; but that doesn’t amount to a failed experiment. Simply, this is not actually a challenge per se but, rather, a good-hearted nod to their favorite bands. For an hour-plus tour de force through the world of indie rock, look no further than I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. It’s a 77-minute document of three music fanatics’ fighting with flattery for the throne of underground pop music.