Yo La Tengo Premiere Four Songs from Their New Album, 'There's a Riot Going On'

Yo La Tengo unleashed a handful of new songs today. The four tunes—"You Are Here,” “Shades of Blue,” “She May, She Might” and “Out of the Pool”—are from their upcoming album, There’s a Riot Going On, which'll be released March 16 via Matador Records.

We can already tell it'll be a warm, ambitious disc, a striking self-produced creation from one of rock's most celebrated and adventurous bands.

It also sounds like a big-time guitar record, and a lot of that six-string mayhem is courtesy of drummer/vocalist Georgia Hubley and—of course—guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan. Bassist James McNew rounds out the band, as he has since 1992.

In fact, There’s a Riot Going On represents McNew’s first-ever YLT production credit; there was no tracking or demoing—rather many years worth of experimenting, tinkering with and mashing up bits and pieces of rejected film scores and discarded songs and melodies YLT have been sitting on for years.

If the album's title sounds familiar, it was—as every little schoolboy knows—the name of a classic 1971 record by Sly and the Family Stone. It refers to all the horrible stuff going on in the world these days; it's basically Yo La Tengo’s quiet form of resistance.

Following their sold-out eight-night run of Hanukkah shows in New York City in December, Yo La Tengo will kick off a world tour March 28 in Minneapolis, hitting Midwest, East Coast and West Coast markets. The full list of tour dates can be found below.

Be sure to check out the four songs, which have been charmingly sprinkled throughout this story. If you really want to freak yourself out, check out the YouTube player below; it features all four songs—at the same time.

To pre-order the album, head in this general direction. For more about Yo La Tengo, step right this way.

Yo La Tengo on Tour:

3/28 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue

3/29 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

3/30 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

3/31 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix

4/2 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

4/3 - Boston, MA - Paradise

4/4 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

4/6 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Steel

4/7 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer

4/8 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson

4/10 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle

4/11 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle

4/12 - Atlanta, GA - Terminal West

4/13 - Nashville, TN - Basement East

4/14 - Nashville, TN - Basement East

4/28 - Dublin, IE - Olympia

4/29 - Glasgow, UK - SWG3

4/30 - Manchester, UK - Academy

5/1 - Birmingham, UK - Town Hall

5/3 - Leeds, UK - Church Leeds

5/4 - London, UK - Royal Festival Hall

5/6 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso

5/7 - Berlin, DE - Heimathafen

5/8 - Cologne, DE - Gloria Theatre

5/9 - Munich, DE - Muncher Kammerspiele

5/11 - Zagreb, HR - Pogon Jedinstvo

5/12 - Belgrade, RS - Dom Omladine

5/13 - Budapest, HU - A38 Ship

5/15 - Milan, IT - Fabrique

5/16 - Fribourg, CH - Fri-Son

5/17 - Schorndorf, DE- Manufaktur

5/19 - Paris, FR - Le Caberet Sauvage

5/20 - Brussels, BE - Ancienne Belgique

5/31 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theater

6/1 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theater

6/2 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

6/3 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

6/5 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore Theater

6/6 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore Theater

6/8 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom

6/9 - Los Angeles, CA - Teragram Ballroom