Sometimes it’s most difficult to review the records that I love the most. This is one of those. I have spent so much time with this album over so many years now that it is associated with memories from four different decades. I have seen them live in a very intimate venue. Watching them switch instruments on what seemed like every other song was amazing. They played their asses off for two sets, and then went out to the merch table and signed things and talked to everyone until the line was done. And you could tell they enjoyed doing it. Mad respect for anyone that goes that extra mile for the fans. They say don’t meet your heroes, but meeting Ira and Georgia was a truly endearing experience.
I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One was released in April of 1997 and is the eighth studio album by Yo La Tengo. Recorded in Nashville with producer Roger Moutenot, it is psychedelic at times, ballad-y at others, fuzz driven, drenched in heavy guitar feedback, chill and contained, wild and free. Truly a sprawling, immersive sonic journey, it runs the gamut of Yo La Tengo emotions from whisper-soft ballads to roaring noise pop. Comprised of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew, the trio’s music is much larger than three people. It is a wall of harmony and discord and love and reflection. As a band, they are at their most exploratory and confident on this album, fusing everything they’d been building toward across the 90s into one cohesive statement. It feels seamless, cycling through genres but with a fuzzy common thread stitching all the tracks together. It is an album of contrasts: loud vs. quiet, distortion vs. clarity, romance vs. distance. Critically lauded as Yo La Tengo’s masterpiece, it is the quintessential record for every YLT fan.
I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One cemented Yo La Tengo as one of indie rock’s most quietly revolutionary bands, artists who could be noisy without aggression, experimental without alienation, tender without sentimentality. It remains their most celebrated album, the one that defines their balance of restless creativity and emotional grounding.
Highlights
Return To Hot Chicken: short instrumental opener, quiet and ambient, gives you space to settle in before the journey of the album
Sugarcube: Fuzz rock greatness, 90s AF, big moment of the album, brings out the singalong, my favorite track on the album
Damage: quieter, intimate, Georgia’s vocal parts are sirenlike and ethereal, gives the album depth and vulnerability
Deeper In Movies: orchestra of guitar feedback, droning and melodic, expansive
Stockholm Syndrome: James sings lead for the first time, very Neil Young, empathy in captivity metaphor
Autumn Sweater: another standout track, layers of rhythm, warm organ groove and soft electronic pulse, perfectly captures shyness and quiet connection
“Whatever you want from me Whatever you want, I’ll do I’ll try to squeeze a drop of blood Squeeze a drop of blood from a sugarcube”
-Yo La Tengo, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (1997)
This is one of my all-time favorite albums, so I thought why not pair it with my signature and all-time favorite cocktail, The Smoked Old Fashioned. It’s simple, classic, distinguished, and kicked up a notch when smoked. I prefer sugarcubes to simple syrup, so here’s a little nod to my favorite track off the album, “Sugarcube”. Cheers!
The Official Coby’sSmoked Old Fashioned
2 1/2 oz bourbon (and another 1/2 oz to muddle)
Angostura bitters
Orange bitters
Demerara Sugar Cube
Bourbon cherry
Orange twist
In a mixing glass, muddle one demerara sugar cube with five dashes of Angostura bitters, five dashes of orange bitters, and 1/2 oz of bourbon. (NOTE: muddle with the rounded end of the muddler. MUDDLE LIKE MAD.)
Add 2 1/2 oz bourbon and stir with barspoon without ice for 10 seconds to dissolve the sugarcube.
Add ice to mixing glass and stir for 30 seconds or until mixing glass shows good condensation.
Strain into old fashioned glass with single ball of ice.
Garnish with bourbon cherry on a pick and orange peel twist.
Smoke with peach or cherry wood chips.
SEASONAL VARIATION: Add a few dashes of Black Walnut bitters for the cooler seasons.
Groove Rituals 