I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 22, 1997, by Matador Records. It was produced by Roger Moutenot and recorded at House of David in Nashville, Tennessee. The album expands the guitar-based pop of its predecessor Electr-O-Pura to encompass a variety of other music genres, including bossa nova, krautrock, and electronic music. Most of the songs on the album deal with melancholy emotions and range from short and fragile ballads to long and open-ended dissonance.
Upon release, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One reached number 19 on the Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, becoming the first Yo La Tengo album to enter the charts. Three songs from the album, "Autumn Sweater", "Sugarcube", and the cover "Little Honda", were released as singles. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised the band's ability to successfully expand the boundaries of nearly any pop style. The album is widely regarded as the band's best work and is frequently included on several publications' best album lists. In 2020, Rolling Stone included it on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time as no. 423.
Background and recording
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the follow-up to Yo La Tengo's highly acclaimed 1995 album Electr-O-Pura, which was ranked at number 9 in The Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[6]Electr-O-Pura marked a new creative direction for the band.[7] According to singer and guitarist Ira Kaplan, "I think after Electr-O-Pura we've had a direction of trying not to worry too hard about what the next album is going to sound like [...] we just write a bunch of songs, and then go one baby step at the time and just do what seems right."[7] At the time, Kaplan also explained that the lyrics used to come last: "What will really happen is somebody will start playing and we'll all fall in and play for a long time. We'll finish playing an hour later and kinda say, 'Oh, do you remember what you did?' Then we'll write something down—or maybe we won't."[8]
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One was recorded at House of David in Nashville, Tennessee and produced by Roger Moutenot, who also produced the band's previous two albums.[9] Kaplan described the recording sessions of the album as follows: "We hole up in a room and work for a really long time. Then we come out and blink our eyes because it's sunny out".[8] Initially, the band did not intend to write a long album, but eventually felt that having a long album was the only way to accommodate the instrumental track "Spec Bebop", which the band felt needed to be included in the album "by hook or by crook".[8]I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the only Yo La Tengo album that was recorded on an ADAT magnetic tape format, even though it was mixed to analog later.[9] Moutenot refutes this, however, claiming the album was recorded with a 24-track Studer.[10] Audio mixing took place at Big House and Magic Shop in New York City.[11]
Music and lyrics
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One expands Electr-O-Pura's guitar-based pop to encompass a variety of other music genres,[1] ranging from the bossa nova soundscapes of "Center of Gravity" to the electronic grooves of "Autumn Sweater",[12] the krautrock jams of "Spec Bebop",[1] the "jazzy goof" of "Moby Octopad",[13] the trip hop sound of "Damage",[13] and the psychedelic folk instrumentation of "We're an American Band", among others.[1] The album also contains two cover songs: "Little Honda", a Beach Boys tune written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, and "My Little Corner of the World", recorded by Anita Bryant, although the band initially did not know she had ever recorded it.[14] The former, which is a song that Kaplan learned for a solo guitar show, was originally used to make sure the recording equipment was set up right. However, it was ultimately included in the album because, according to bassist James McNew, "it just sort of turned out pretty good."[15]
The title to the song "Moby Octopad" is a reference to Yo La Tengo's appearance on the 1995 Lollapalooza tour, where the band performed mid-afternoon sets on the festival's side stage. Often performing earlier in the afternoon was the artist Moby. One of the instruments that Moby used in his performance was the Roland Octapad, an electronic percussion instrument. When taking the stage for their own performance, Yo La Tengo frequently noticed road crew's tape with "MOBY OCTAPAD" written on it, still left on the stage after Moby's set.[16] The band later used this anecdote as the title for an instrumental that they were jamming on. Lyrics unrelated to the Moby story were added later.[16]
Most of the lyrics on I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One deal with melancholy emotions.[17] The track "Stockholm Syndrome", which is the first Yo La Tengo song sung by McNew,[15] is about captives eventually expressing empathy toward their captors and vice versa.[17] It was described by prominent music critic Robert Christgau as a "simulated Neil Young ballad".[18] The song "Autumn Sweater", which is layered with complex rhythms and textures,[19] explores themes of love and lack of communication, while "Center of Gravity" has been described as "a simple lo-fi devotional love song".[17]I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One also marks the debut of Kaplan's falsetto singing, which was said to blur the line between his voice and that of drummer Georgia Hubley.[20] The album's title is taken from a line in an unknown film.[8] According to Kaplan, "I think it's a nice, evocative title—it seems to mean a lot but it doesn't really mean anything. It comes from a movie, but I'm not telling what movie. You'll have to see it one day and say, 'Eureka!'"[8]
Release
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One was released on April 22, 1997, by the independent record label Matador Records. The album reached number 19 on the Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, becoming the first Yo La Tengo album to enter the charts.[21] Three songs from the album, "Autumn Sweater", "Sugarcube", and "Little Honda", were released as singles or EPs in 1997.[22][23][24] A music video featuring Mr. Show with Bob and David's comedians David Cross and Bob Odenkirk was made for "Sugarcube".[25] The song "Moby Octopad", which was not released as a single, peaked at number 4 on the KEXP Top 90.3 Album Chart in 1997.[26] As of March 2000, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One has sold 73,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan, becoming Yo La Tengo's most commercially successful album at the time.[27] In 2012, The Daily Beast reported that the record had sold 300,000 copies since release.[28]
An insert card in the CD release parodied the marketing leaflets that are sometimes inserted into the jewel case for a compact disc, promoting other products from the same label. It "advertised" albums by imaginary artists, like "Condo Fucks", "Unsanitary Napkins", and "Künstler" in a variety of genres. In 2008, Yo La Tengo followed up on the joke by releasing Fuckbook, an album of covers credited to the "Condo Fucks".[29]
Upon release, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One received widespread acclaim from music critics. Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone felt that the album "proves that Yo La Tengo can master nearly any pop style [...] the music's ominousness is undercut by Yo La Tengo's infectious joy at simply making noise. It's just this joy that makes Yo La Tengo stand out amid their indie-rock peers".[12] Similarly, in his review for Spin, Robert Christgau said that the album gave the band "the grace to professionalize toward the pop melodicism they've always loved."[18] He also felt that the first nine songs were perfect and considered "Autumn Sweater" as the "very peak" of the album.[18]Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot highlighted the album's diverse influences, stating that the band "fashions sprawling albums out of minimal instrumental strokes and soft voices."[13]
The album's range of power and soft elements was noted. Writing for Entertainment Weekly, David Browne said that, while the band has always been "adept at striking a balance between hurricane-force dissonance and fragile serenity", Yo La Tengo "crack open their sound even wider here. Their muted, after-hours guitar drone is in full effect [...] As adults who still need to make a racket, they remain addicted to noise, but now the trio integrates the feedback into the arrangements, like squalls rumbling in the distance."[30]Dele Fadele of NME also praised the open-ended nature of the album, but criticized the instrumental "Spec Bebop" for being "constructed around some hurtful feedback, to end up as an endurance test."[17] In a very positive review, Jason Josephes of Pitchfork praised the album for exploring new directions, commenting that the band takes its "sonic inventions to new levels."[32]
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One was ranked number 5 in The Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop critics' poll, the band's highest position to date.[35] In the poll's accompanying essay, Christgau referred to the album as one of his "favorite albums of the year, easy", alongside those by Pavement, Sleater-Kinney, and Arto Lindsay.[36] Similarly, editors of NME magazine placed the album at number 19 in their albums of the year list for 1997,[37] while Spin journalists placed the album at number 8 in their list of Top 20 Albums of the Year.[38]
Legacy
Retrospectively, I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is widely regarded as the band's best work. AllMusic reviewer Fred Thomas described it as "a definitive master statement. The subtly shifting moods and wide, curious palette of stylistic exploration resulted in a lasting indie rock classic, essential listening and also something of a blueprint for much of what followed from like-minded bands for years to come."[1]The A.V. Club editor John Krewson remarked that the album marked the point when the band started to "[dabble] on electronica" with songs such as "Moby Octopad" and "Autumn Sweater", calling it "an example of a band having great fun exploring the possibilities of pop music."[39] In his review of the band's 2003 album Summer Sun, Christgau praised I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One as Yo La Tengo's "career album", commenting that "It's no challenge or insult to state categorically that they'll never top it."[40] In 2017, Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan described the record as the band's "first true masterpiece."[41]
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is frequently included on several publications' best album lists. In 1999, the record was ranked number 78 on Spin's list of The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s.[42] In 2003, Pitchfork ranked it number 25 on its list of the Top 100 albums of the 1990s,[43] later placing it at number 73 in an updated 2022 list.[44] Similarly, Rolling Stone placed the record at number 86 on its 2010 compilation of 100 Best Albums of the Nineties.[45] In 2012, the album appeared at number 22 on Paste's list of The 90 Best Albums of the 1990s.[46] In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Beating as One number 423 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[47]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Yo La Tengo unless otherwise noted
Yo La Tengo is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew. In 2015, original guitarist Dave Schramm rejoined the band and appeared on their fourteenth album, Stuff Like That There.
Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass, Peter Prescott on drums, and Martin Swope contributing audiotape manipulation and acting as the band’s sound engineer. In this initial lineup, Miller, Conley, and Prescott all shared singing and songwriting duties.
Dig Me Out is the third studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on April 8, 1997, by Kill Rock Stars. The album was produced by John Goodmanson and recorded from December 1996 to January 1997 at John and Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington. Dig Me Out marked the debut of Janet Weiss, who would become the band's longest-serving drummer. The music on the record was influenced by traditional rock and roll bands, while the lyrics deal with issues of heartbreak and survival. The album cover is an homage to the Kinks' 1965 album The Kink Kontroversy.
There's a Riot Going On is the fifteenth full-length studio album by the American band Yo La Tengo, and was released through Matador Records on March 16, 2018.
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on February 22, 2000, by Matador Records. The album received acclaim from critics.
Summer Sun is the tenth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on April 8, 2003 by record label Matador.
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.
Electr-O-Pura is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on May 2, 1995, by record label Matador. The album received very positive reviews from music critics.
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass is the eleventh full-length album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released on September 12, 2006 by record label Matador.
Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo is a 2-disc album by Yo La Tengo, consisting of rarities, alternate versions, and out-takes, spanning 1988 to 1995. The album was released on Matador in 1996; a Japanese version with two extra tracks appeared in 1998.
The Sounds of the Sounds of Science is a score written by Yo La Tengo for filmmaker Jean Painlevé. It contains 78 minutes of instrumental music to accompany his eight short documentary-style films shot underwater. The live performances are known as “The Sounds of Science.” The program debuted in 2001 at the San Francisco Film Festival. The entire score has been performed approximately twelve times. The band had not heard of Painlevé before being asked to work on the project nor did the band view the films much before writing the music.
Stockholm syndrome is a proposed condition or psychological theory.
Strange but True is a collaborative album by the band Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair. It was released by Matador Records in 1998. The song titles are taken from outrageous newspaper headlines. The lyrics were written by Jad's brother, David.
They Shoot, We Score is a compilation soundtrack album by the band Yo La Tengo, released on September 5, 2008.
Popular Songs is the twelfth full-length album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo, released digitally, on CD, and double LP on September 8, 2009, by the Matador record label.
Fuckbook is an album released by indie rock band Yo La Tengo under the alias Condo Fucks in 2009. The band name comes from an inner sleeve listing fake albums and genre send-ups included in their 1997 album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Guitarist Ira Kaplan and drummer Georgia Hubley are credited on this album as Kid Condo and Georgia Condo, respectively. The Matador press release for the album creates a fictional backstory for the band that hints at the truth. The album is purportedly produced by Mutt Lange, mixed by Bob Clearmountain, and mastered by Greg Calbi, but this is unconfirmed and most likely part of the gag.
The discography of Yo La Tengo, an indie rock band based in Hoboken, New Jersey, consists of seventeen studio albums, six compilation albums, sixteen extended plays, twenty-two singles, two film score albums, four collaborative albums, and one album of cover songs.
"My Little Corner of the World" is a 1960 love song with music written by Lee Pockriss and lyrics by Bob Hilliard.
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