Painful (album)
Painful is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released in 1993 by record label Matador, their first for the label. Content. The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work, blending atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams. "Painful" features a much more melody-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, dream-like 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 feedback echoing in the background, while the second version is a much more straightforward, shoegaze style with an accompanying organ solo towards the latter part of the song. Release. On 2 December 2014, the album was reissued with bonus material as "Extra Painful", available on double CD, double vinyl and as a digital download.