“Sinatra Drive Breakdown,” named after a popular waterfront boulevard in Hoboken, follows the release oflead singles “Aselestine” and “Fallout.” On the nine-track album, the trio of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew centers on maintaining a sense of optimism in the face of uncertainty.
Written, recorded, and self-produced in Yo La Tengo’s New Jersey hometown, the record marks their first album in nearly three years but their 17th in almost 40 years. “In one sense, these songs are finished,” McNew recently told. “But now we figure out how to play them in front of people, so they begin this second life. That holds for every song that this band has come up with since the ’80s. It’s all up for grabs. It’s always changing. It’s alive.