After almost two decades as rock-and-roll anti-stars, Yo La Tengo--particularly Georgia and bandmate/husband Ira Kaplan--seems uncharacteristically satisfied retreading musical ground in order to build compositions around lyrics, rather than vice versa (the buried vocals on"Beach Party Tonight" excepted). The past three YLT "official" Matador albums have progressed toward nuance rather than novelty. The lyrics on Summer Sun, or many of them, are confessional and delivered with an air of resignation punctuated by a sense of relief, as if the time has finally come to sing them. Personal lyrics and the theme of seasons--and of emotional seasons, perhaps depression--abound, and measured arrangements push the sincere lyrics to the fore.

Over electric guitar and shaker on "Tiny Birds," James McNew sings "Don't be sad when it's time to say good night. I'll be there to make sure that you sleep tight. I'm your friend when you need a friend, until there's nothing left in the world to make you cry." On "Little Eyes" Georgia, bolstered by Ira's falsetto and steady drum beat, coos "You can only hurt the ones you love, not the ones your thinking of." A scratchy loop is blanketed with piano and bass guitar on the tellingly-titled "Don't Have to Be Sad." Ira sings/mumbles, "Last night, I was trying to read in bed. I got to watching you sleep instead. Even when I got tired, I couldn't stop. Because I love you so, and I pray you know. But I'm not one for praying. You knew I couldn't say that without making a joke."

Even when they're despondent, YLT can have fun and be funny, as on "Nothing But You and Me," when Ira begs "Won't you please come back to me?" like a timid R&B crooner over a metronome-like drum machine--or on the more lighthearted "How to Make a Baby Elephant Float," when he explains "I like to hold hands when we walk, I'm not averse to pillow talk, but I prefer a private joke, the memory it evokes, because it's our punchline." Fortunately, YLT increasingly lets fans in on the tears and jokes.

*A typical review would identify bandmembers by their instrument, but in the case of Yo La Tengo, any attempt to pin down the multifaceted musicians is futile. Their concerts sometimes resemble a game of musical chairs.