Yo La Tengo will release a new EP Today Is the Day on October 21st. The six-song set features three previously unreleased songs from the sessions for their recent Summer Sun album, a pair of alternate versions of album tracks and a cover of Bert Jansch's "Needle of Death."

"They all came very close to being on the record," says bassist James McNew of the Summer Sun outtakes "Styles of the Times," "Outsmartener" and "Dr. Crash," "but we didn't want it to be any longer than it is."

The alternate album tracks include an acoustic reading of "Cherry Chapstick" from 2000's And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out and a hopped-up version of Sun's "Today Is the Day." "It's very loud and fast," McNew says of the EP's title track. "It's actually the original version of the song -- the softer version on the LP was really the alternate, if you wanna be technical about it."

Yo La Tengo will kick off their U.S. fall tour September 10th in Richmond, Virginia.

Today Is the Day track list:

Today Is the Day
Styles of the Times
Outsmartener
Needle of Death
Dr. Crash
Cherry Chapstick

Yo La Tengo tour dates:

9/10: Richmond, VA, Alley Katz
9/11: Asheville, NC, Orange Peel
9/12: Atlanta, Variety Playhouse
9/13: Jacksonville, FL, Florida Theater
9/15: Orlando, FL, The Social
9/16: Tampa, FL, Twilight
9/18: New Orleans, Tinitina's Uptown
9/20: Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room
9/21: Austin, Zilker Park
9/23: Lawrence, KS, Granada Theater
9/24: Columbia, MO, Blue Note
9/25: St. Louis, MO, The Pageant
9/26: Grinnell, IA, Harris Center
9/27: Madison, WI, Barrymore Theater
9/29: Milwaukee, WI, Shank Hall
9/30: Indianapolis, IN, The Vogue
10/1: Lexington, KY, Singletary Center
10/3: Toronto, Ryerson Theater
10/4: Ottawa, Zaphod Beeblebrox
10/6: Montreal, Club Soda
10/7: Burlington, VT, Higher Ground
10/9: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
10/10: Brooklyn, NY, Warsaw
10/11: Philadelphia, The Trocadero

COLIN DEVENISH
(August 22, 2003)