Yo La Tengo’s I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One is a beautiful, atmospheric album that diverges a sizeable amount from other music from the mid-1990s.

At a time where media ecosystems increasingly elevated gritty, edgy, “cool” vibes, Yo La Tengo released an album that leans into independent sincerity. While harder rock sounds are present in the album (take a listen to “Sugarcube,” for example), it does different work than that of other bands. Rather than centering verbal music, the lyrics fade into the background.

Drum rhythms and the electronic sounds here would not be out of place within the larger post-rock scene that was then emerging, but the band also refuses to lean wholly into the sort of ambient music pioneered by Brian Eno.

“Moby Octopad” is one song that stands out for its unique sonic landscape. Alongside breathy vocals and classic rock sounds, the band does include a tense, almost urgent piano melody.

Before I spent the time to listen to the whole album, the only song that I knew was “My Little Corner of the World.” While the track is a great conclusion to the album, it is hardly the highlight. I preferred songs like “Deeper into Movies,” “Autumn Sweater,” and “Green Arrow.”

I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One is a long record, but it’s well worth listening to. In fact, I think it needed to be as long as it was; there is too much sonic diversity, and cutting tracks would would have been a missed opportunity.