If the esteemed label Matador Records is to be believed, Fuckbook is the latest from the New London, CT rock trio the Condo Fucks after more than a decade-long hiatus. A palpable mystique surrounds the band. Its four previous titles being out-of-print and nigh impossible to obtain, and with no adequate Wikipedia page, one must make due with a 4 1/2 minute long YouTube documentary for information on the Condo Fucks, which, frankly, raises more questions then it answers.
However, when one digs deeper, the grand illusion is exposed to be but a clever ruse masterminded by none other than Yo La Tengo, apparently as a throwback to a fake promo appearing on the insert for their album I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One. Fuckbook, then, is essentially a fake album and a vehicle for Yo La Tengo to release a set of low-fi, garage-rock covers.
But this reviewer wanted to believe it all. The lore, the hype and the idea of the Condo Fucks is, for whatever reason, intoxicating. Even when the wool is pulled from over the eyes, the giddiness did not leave. Yo La Tengo has successfully executed what every wannabe musician sitting in his or her basement or dorm room has dreamt of: creating a fake band as an inside joke. Furthermore, they cover songs that are only barely recognizable: lesser known works by bands like the Beach Boys, the Kinks and Richard Hell, as well as a slew of other relatively unknown bands from the ’60s and ’70s. In doing so, Yo La Tengo has made Fuckbook, along with the Condo Fucks, stand out as a self-contained artistic statement.
When listening to the album and reading the accompanying press release, with its uber-deferential treatment of the material, one gets the impression Yo La Tengo and Matador are doing this for fun, and not because they expect this record to sell or achieve any kind of popularity. It is a labor only a mother could love.
But what of the music? The sound of the Condo Fucks is like the distilled essence of garage rock. The production quality is literally nonexistent, each track seemingly done live and without a second take; so much so that the track “So Easy Baby” begins with a glaring, yet hilarious, false start. However, in no way is this album amateurish. Yo La Tengo have returned to the core basics of rock, guitar, drums and bass, and formed the most talented garage-band in existence. While sometimes straying perilously close to distorted, droning no-wave (as on “Accident”), even this is artfully done. The benefits that arise from this simpler rock ‘n’ roll style make themselves evident especially on their covers of The Kinks’ “This Is Where I Belong” and Richard Hell’s “Kid With The Replaceable Head,” where each element, from the murky guitar to the peeled back vocals, does an incredible amount of work not only to form effective and meaningful covers, but also to create a unique voice for the band.
Each of these songs works twice as hard, furthering the immeasurable aura of the Condo Fucks and transporting the listener to the early ’90s, a simpler time when rock reigned supreme, and the local scene was tantamount to a musician’s entire world.
4 stars out of 5.
