I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Yo La Tengo

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 1997)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B0000036X3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,025 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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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

Product 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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underappreciated, undermarketed, underplayed, February 21, 2001

By	James T. Heeney (Montclair, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

As one other reviewer remarked, this lp is simply a joy, particularly for anyone who reminisces fondly of indie rock of the late 80's and early 90's. Powerful emotions are channeled in this album through intense yet carefully considered composition and instrumentation. Yo La Tengo is almost unapologetic when revealing their influences. One hears a bit of the Stone Roses on this album, REM, Mazzy Star, and, unmistakeably, The Jesus & Mary Chain. As you might infer, the breadth of style exhibited here makes the disc almost sound like a compilation of works by different artists. Yet nowhere is there a mistep or a lack of inspiration. And amazingly, the entire recording seems to flow seamlessly. It is as if the group tells us that what is good about each of the artists who influenced them is to be celebrated, brought to light, and amplified upon through a new focus, a new expression. Paying the standard price for a disc for 68 minutes of dazzling artistry, I felt and still feel that I have somehow cheated the band.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I totally love this record, January 6, 2006

By	Ludwig J. Pluralist "avantepopgospeler" (Beacon, NY USA) - See all my reviews

How much do I love this record, well let me count the ways:

1. I love it because it moves me with its beauty and magnificence. Each song here is wonderful. Each has its own mood, its own vibe, and each goes in a slightly different direction than all the others. For example, Moby Octopad, a song about being "locked in a kiss" with the one you love and thus the ability you both have to kind of shut the world out, has a sustained sort of bass driven funk groove. The sound is blissfull, which perfectly fits the song's subject matter; the song that follows, Sugarcube, is also a love song, in the sense that it is about pledging one's all to one's loved one, about being what they want you to be, and it is delivered with such power as a melodic guitar song, yet with a great warmth to it. Some songs here are soft and subtle; others, like Spec Bebop is a high energy instrumental jam. And some, like Autumn Sweater (a Yo La Tengo classic), Deeper Into Movies, and The Lie and How We Told It are simply blissfully gorgeous. Ultimately, though, each song comes together with each other song here and blend together forming an intact and complete whole.

2. I love it because it holds true to its ideals. Yo La Tengo have never sold out, nor have they ever come close to doing so. They simply seek to create, each time anew. Here they have, and in a multitude of ways. In fact, if you get a chance to view the very funny video to the song Sugarcube, one which mocks, a la Spinal Tap the music industry's rock cliches, you can see that this is a band that is all about music over image, substance over superficiality; in fact, while I have been a fan of this group since their first recording, it was, ironically this video, and one played on MTV of all places (on 120 Minutes) that reminded me of how worthwhile this band is and got me back to listening to them on a regular basis

3. I love it because it encompasses a history of indie rock as well as of mainstream rock's more critically acclaimed moments, as for instance in their garage punked out version of the Beach Boy's Little Honda. Songs like Damage and the alt.countrified One PM Again are simply rich in musical and lyrical signifiers; you can hear in these and other songs and their arrangements a wide variety of influences, from the Velvet Underground to various "No Wave" bands of the early 80s to bands like Ride, Lush, Spacemen 3, My Bloody Valentine, and many many others, but without being derivative in any way. You can also hear Kinks and Beatle and even Bert Bacharach influences, though these are subtle. In short, what you get here is great music played by musicians with an encyclopedic knowledge of rock history.

4. I love it because it comes from Yo La Tengo. I've now seen them live around 8 or 9 times, and have enjoyed each performance. I have nothing but respect and admiration for them and everything they stand for.

5. I love it because it should be loved. It's too good not to.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars will their time come? again?, January 11, 2000

By A Customer

"I Can Hear the Heart" is by far the best Yo La Tengo release yet, and also their most eclectic. The band certainly know how to play the field, and regardless of what they try, it always comes up Yo La Tengo. Witness the track "Deeper Into Movies." The melody and chords are 100% pure Yo La Tengo, yet the execution is 100% pure My Bloody Valentine, and the group knows it. Yet it really works, on its own terms. Other styles covered are straight-ahead ballads ("Shadows"), spacey disco ("Spec Bebop"), pure rave-up rock and roll ("Little Honda," great cover), and Neil Young folksy-ness ("Stockholm Syndrome"). Although the description makes it sound like this would be a pretty incoherent collection, the best qualities of Yo La Tengo (good singing/harmonies, great guitar playing) give unity to all the varied tracks. There's a song for everyone on this album. At times nostalgic, other times looking far into the future, this is an album for the ages that will be looked back upon as a classic.