I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
We always suspected they had it in them, but who knew Yo La Tengo would finally craft a record as wholeheartedly terrific as this? Fourteen years into their career as indie rock's low-key mainstays, the Hoboken, New Jersey, trio have arrived--and it's about time. It's as though simply by sticking around long enough and doing the same thing over and over while constantly refining and focusing Yo La have evolved from scattered, record-collecting eccentrics into the true classicists of '90s indie rock. Blending elements of what has illuminated Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Pavement, and My Bloody Valentine, they've long had a clear voice but never sounded so comfortable using it. Willfully eclectic husband-and-wife multi-instrumentalists Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley--with third member James McNew never sounding more permanent--have previously tended to alternate between their instincts to be a pop rock band and to serve as artsy noisemakers. On I Can Hear..., the group doesn't have to choose between songs and sounds. There's noise leaking out everywhere, but it's always under control. Even the most layered soundscapes--songs like "Autumn Sweater," "Sugarcube," or "Moby Octopad"--have unforgettable melodies, with fragile harmonies to boot. "We're an American Band" (not a Grand Funk cover) could be Simon and Garfunkel singing along to the Jesus and Mary Chain. And on tracks like "Shadows" or "My Little Corner of the World," where the melody consumes everything else, deceptively simple backdrops provide a less-is-more atmosphere. Just in time for indie rock to catch up with Yo La Tengo, Yo La Tengo has caught up with itself. --Roni Sarig --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Album Description
Full title - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. Over 65 minutes of breath-taking material recorded under smooth circumstances in Nashville, TN. 1997 Matador Records. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Return To Hot Chicken
Moby Octopad
Sugarcube
Damage
Deeper Into Movies
Shadows
Stockholm Syndrome
Autumn Sweater
Little Honda
Green Arrow
One PM Again
The Lie And How We Told It
Center Of Gravity
Spec Bebop
We're An American Band
My Little Corner Of The World

Amazon.com essential recording

We always suspected they had it in them, but who knew Yo La Tengo would finally craft a record as wholeheartedly terrific as this? Fourteen years into their career as indie rock's low-key mainstays, the Hoboken, New Jersey, trio have arrived--and it's about time. It's as though simply by sticking around long enough and doing the same thing over and over while constantly refining and focusing Yo La have evolved from scattered, record-collecting eccentrics into the true classicists of '90s indie rock. Blending elements of what has illuminated Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Pavement, and My Bloody Valentine, they've long had a clear voice but never sounded so comfortable using it. Willfully eclectic husband-and-wife multi-instrumentalists Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley--with third member James McNew never sounding more permanent--have previously tended to alternate between their instincts to be a pop rock band and to serve as artsy noisemakers. On I Can Hear..., the group doesn't have to choose between songs and sounds. There's noise leaking out everywhere, but it's always under control. Even the most layered soundscapes--songs like "Autumn Sweater," "Sugarcube," or "Moby Octopad"--have unforgettable melodies, with fragile harmonies to boot. "We're an American Band" (not a Grand Funk cover) could be Simon and Garfunkel singing along to the Jesus and Mary Chain. And on tracks like "Shadows" or "My Little Corner of the World," where the melody consumes everything else, deceptively simple backdrops provide a less-is-more atmosphere. Just in time for indie rock to catch up with Yo La Tengo, Yo La Tengo has caught up with itself. --Roni Sarig

Album Description

Full title - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. Over 65 minutes of breath-taking material recorded under smooth circumstances in Nashville, TN. 1997 Matador Records.

Customer Reviews:

Solid if slightly underwelming textbook-indie easy-going rock.......2007-04-20

3 1/2

Worthy of nearly all it's indie credibility, the seminal underground experimental pop act put forth another lengthy disc full of quirky charm and surprising eclecticism with their highly esteemed I can hear..., but seems to me this particular outing is just another deposit into an adept lo-fi bands repertoire, no more, no less. With their refined approach at nailing a catchy melody without being too obnoxious about it, Yo La Tengo prove worthy in multiple genre attempts with this musical stew of alt-rock jams. The writing is on point, and the selections remain worthy of it's modern cult classic status as earned, but anyone not directly peering into the specific time period this came out, in the context of this band's career, may find an album strangely lacking of downright amazing material. Most songs are good, quite good, though few are really great. As per usual, interesting, usually borrowed melodies are played beyond an apparent scope intended for some tracks, overstaying their welcome in distorted repetition, as competent and catchy they may be.

Lush and melodic.......2006-12-29

This was my first real exposure to Yo La Tango, and I'm hooked. It's full of all sorts of lush and melodic songs in the tradition of indie rock. Yes, I can hear the Jesus and The Mary Chain influences, but I have to say this style of music goes all the way back to Lou Reed. Not all the lyrics are intelligible and there isn't a song or group of songs that really stand out from the others. It's more like great background music than something you'd want to sing along to. All the tracks sort of melt together into this great sound.

The track "We're an American Band" is not a cover of the Grand Funk Railroad hit. While Yo La Tango's version is an above average song, what would really be interesting if they actually covered the song.

masterwork?.......2006-05-23

this album is exceptional for YLT. I often flounder between this one and 'and then nothing' being my favorites, but they are different. the variety of the songs is great but they all work together as a cohesive album, skipping tracks on this CD is completely unneccessary. there are still some great love songs and a post-punk tunes but this album is more lyrically and instrumentally mature then some of thier earlier works, such as 'Painful' or 'Electropura'. I honestly couldnt say enough about this cd, but i dont like writing long reviews... this is a personal favorite of mine

Ranks among those obligatory 90s hipster discs.......2006-05-08

There is a certain amount of unanimity amongst critics as to what discs from the 1990s should be heralded as great, and "Heart" is generally granted propitious accolades. My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" is traditionally regarded as a superior recording, and for the most part it is. "Loveless" is an incomparable example of committed artistry, and it should garner adulations by its sheer density alone. However, I've always felt that "Heart", which for the most part exists in "Loveless"' vein of ethereal ambience, was the more immediately human and inviting record. "Heart"'s emotion exists on a unique artistic plane that few artists dare to tread, and the record's often convoluted lyrical musings are viscerally penetrating, more so than most modern pop records. Upon first blush, the band seems to rely on a relatively limited musical vocabulary throughout the album, but extended listens reveal a fairly rich tapestry of styles, sounds and impressive articulations. "Spec Bebop" is consistenly unnerving, but in at least one sense it seems like one of the most integral and necessary tracks on the record. YLT's Jesus and Mary Chain fetishism had to be illuminated at some point on "Heart", and "Spec Bebops" unrestrained entropy is a great testament to the band's willingness to explore the ether. Conversely, the apparent convention of "Little Honda", "Sugarcube" and "Deeper Into Movies" display another facet of YLT's artistic maturity, as well as the band's penchant for sheer histrionic onslaught. The solo midway through "Sugarcube" is the one of most vexing and hilariously apropos moments on any modern rock song, and it becomes apparnet that the band approaches such passages with an equal concern for irony and viability. "Autumn Sweater", perhaps due to its name alone, has become synonymous with stifled hipster love balladry, and by most accounts it stands as one of the most honest and telling rock narratives of the last fifteen years. YLT's ability to oscillate between Beach Boys sentimentality, Can experimentation and Sonic Youth flamboyance, all the while harboring a kind of self-assured ambivalence, is a sometimes startling testament to the band's musical prowess.
All analysis aside, however, I cannot imagine how a human being with an operable soul would not enjoy this record. It has an almost cosmic ability to make the listener feel genuinely good, oftentimes in a restrained and self-negating fashion that elucidates the inner hipster nerd in all of us. The sheer wantonness of "Sugarcube", the cutesie femininity of "Our Little Corner Of The World", (which, unfortunately, has taken on an inextricable involvement with "Gilmore Girls"), and the utter desolation of "Damage" converge to produce an unmistakable experience.
Sadly, there are no true Thurston Moore moments on "Heart" to measure up to "Big Day Coming" and the like, but the band more than makes up for such a discrepency.

Get in the right mood............2006-03-27

The first time I listened to this disc - it felt like nails going straight into my eardrums. We were on a road trip - not the right 'vibe' for the cd. Since I've listened to it quite a few times - and in the correct mood - feels like a really good rest!!!!!

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