We tend to pick records that go with the weather and seasons around here. Certain records and music can make these seasonal transitions more vivid and easier to adjust to.
The ROTM Club pick for March is spot on for the coming spring and end to a cold winter. The sparse, and moving, soundtrack to the 2006 film Old Joy—performed by Yo La Tengo–is what we’ve got coming your way in March.
Club Members will be getting a copy of the soundtrack, which has been pressed to vinyl for the very first time.
Kelly Reichardt’s film follows to old friends as they reunite for a road trip to a secluded hot springs where the two men camp and contemplate their lives and friendship. The films stars Will Oldham and Daniel London.
Recorded in a single afternoon at Yo La Tengo’s studio in Hoboken, Old Joy is a drifting, improvisatory journey, born out of years-long friendship between the band and the film’s director.
The six instrumental tracks, created in collaboration with legendary guitarist Smokey Hormel, carry that unmistakable Yo La Tengo sound, but delivered in service of another great work of art. The music, like so much of Reichardt’s film work, is low-key yet arresting, stripped down to the essentials, warm and unpretentious. The record includes two variations on the beloved “Leaving Home” theme, released for the first time on vinyl after years traveling in Yo La Tengo fan circles.
This music is a balm, remarkably full of emotion despite (or maybe because of) its restraint and minimalism. Originally released on They Shoot, We Score, a CD compiling several of the band’s soundtracks, Old Joy stands as a cohesive whole here, blooming and rewarding repeat listens. Sliding reverbed guitars, muted piano and percussion, the hum of an old amp – the blurry memory of an afternoon in the studio, or a short-lived road trip through the backwoods of Oregon.
Small-run, high-quality LP pressed at Smashed Plastic in Chicago.
