As ever with the wild rollercoaster that is YO LA TENGO'S 'career', the way to approach "Today Is The Day" is basically expect the unexpected. For instance, if you'd been expecting a re-run of the deft delicacy of the song from YLT'S brilliant recent "Summer Sun" then think again, pardner, as this version is the rockin', bleedin' feedback version, with the madness and beauty battling it out from the first flam on Georgia Hubley's snare.
In case you were worrying, though, it's not a problem, as even in this alien environment "Today Is The Day" sounds ace and it's shadowed by further cool rockin' tracks with "Styles Of The Times" (drawled metaphysical vocals from Ira Kaplan, fuzz pedals set to stun and a kinda cod-Motown shoegazing backbeat) and the overhearting tribal lunacy of "Outsmartener", where Ira and Georgia duet sweetly while the band rock fit to burst and guest William Parker coaxes the sort of industrial venom out of a double-reed horn that Pere Ubu's Allen Ravenstine would be gleefully applauding.
All of this is great, but the real greatness in this generous 6-track EP (more like a mini-LP in truth) lurks within the three wholly gentle tracks making up its' second half. The gentle instrumental "Dr. Crash", with surf guitars, sitar, warm organ and brushed drums to the fore recalls "Summer Sun" though in reality it dates back to 1999 and there's a beautifully poised acoustic take of "Cherry Chapstick" (live on Triple J Radio, Melbourne, Australia) from "And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out".
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The piece de resistance, though, is surely YLT'S monumentally heartbreaking version of Bert Jansch's "Needle Of Death". Ira, Georgia and James have proved how adept they are at cover versions ever since their "Fakebook" album, but "Needle Of Death" is something else. Almost unbearably poignant, the crushing inevitability of the heroin-related lyric is caressed beautifully by Hubley and the way the tense changes from past to present to future recalls the insight The Only Ones' invested the subject in The Only Ones' equally effective smack commentary "The Beast". To say it's a showstopper is something of an understatement.
"Today Is The Day", then, is a further generous, stylistically-teasing helping of fun, feedback-fuelled frolics and funereality from Hoboken's finest and represents a fine adjunct to a memorable album. Oh come on: surely you didn't think they'd let us down, did you?
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