***1/2 Yo La Tengo

I CAN HEAR THE HEART BEATING AS ONE

(Matador)

When Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan started Yo La Tengo a decade ago, their cues came from the strum-and-drone side of the Velvet Underground. Since then they've covered everyone from the Kinks to Daniel Johnston and indulged in everything from acoustic hootenannies to feedback-drenched guitar storms. But unlike most bands who dabble in a little of this and a little of that, Yo La Tengo have never thrown out the old to make room for the new. Instead they've created a sound that's grown thicker and more complex over time.

I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One is more eclectic than either of Yo La Tengo's last two full-lengths: 1993's gorgeously noisy Painful and '95's more somber Electr-o-pura, both of which had the ebb and flow of a rock symphony. Hubley and Kaplan (and bassist James McNew) seem to be taking stock, revisiting their Velvetsy past, and trying out a few new moves before integrating them. So you get a little acoustic pop, a dose of organ-laced melancholy, and the hypno-drone krautrock of "Moby Octopad," which hints at what the band's next move may be. That it all sounds more like Yo La Tengo than anything else is a tribute to the art with which Hubley and Kaplan absorb the music that moves them.

-- Matt Ashare

(Yo La Tengo play the Middle East this Tuesday, May 20. Call 497-0576.)