Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (2LP)

Yo La Tengo began life as one among hundreds of Velvet Underground-inspired bands, banging out dark, skittish tunes that displayed guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan's affection for Lou Reed as well as the band's commitment to creating a gently subversive groove. Over the years, the group, which also features Kaplan's wife Georgia Hubley on drums and vocals, has gone through more identity changes than David Bowie, from acoustic folk-rock to wailing, Sonic Youth-like guitarchitecture. 

On their 1997 fan favorite I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, YLT consolidates their sound as they expand it, incorporating bossa nova, electronica and '60s pop into a gorgeous shimmering whole that is something more than the sum of its parts. The laconic-but-expressive vocals of Kaplan and Hubley provide the songs with just the right combination of detachment and naivete, and the trio (which also includes bassist James McNew) sounds like one person with six arms, three brains and one big heart. 

LP1

1.  Return To Hot Chicken

2.  Moby Octopad

3.  Sugarcube

4.  Damage

5.  Deeper Into Movies

6.  Shadows

7.  Stockholm Syndrome

8.  Autumn Sweater

9.  Little Honda

LP2

1.  Green Arrow

2.  One PM Again

3.  The Lie And How We Told It

4.  Center Of Gravity

5.  Spec Bebop

6.  We're An American Band

7.  My Little Corner Of The World