Painful (album)

Painful is the sixth studio album released in 1993 by alternative rock band Yo La Tengo. The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work in that it blends atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams.

Painful features a much more melodic-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, drugged-out songwriting. Two versions of the track "Big Day Coming" are present on the album and display the range of musical stylings Yo La Tengo works with; the first version features a simple organ melody accompanied by a soft bass counterpoint and Kaplan's guitar chimes echoing in the background, while the second version is a much more straightforward, shoegaze style with a vicious organ solo towards the end.

Track listing

1. "Big Day Coming" – 7:04
2. "From a Motel 6" – 4:08
3. "Double Dare" – 3:28
4. "Superstar-Watcher" – 1:42
5. "Nowhere Near" – 6:01
6. "Sudden Organ" – 4:42
7. "A Worrying Thing" – 2:53
8. "I Was the Fool Beside You for Too Long" – 5:04
9. "The Whole of the Law" (The Only Ones) – 2:19
10. "Big Day Coming" – 4:14
11. "I Heard You Looking" – 7:01

References