In the ’90s, Jad Fair’s favourite artists included Daniel Johnston, The Pastels, Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, and Yo La Tengo—remarkably, he collaborated with all of them within a dozen years. Over his fifty-year career, Fair has released hundreds of titles, many long out of print. One such project, Strange But True with Yo La Tengo—originally released in 1998 on Matador—has been hard to find. Now reissued on vinyl by Joyful Noise and Bar/None, the album captures the playful, unpredictable spirit of Fair and Yo La Tengo’s mid-’90s partnership, a reminder of indie rock’s freedom to be as weird and unruly as its creators.
