Yo La Tengo Shows Its Sonic Muscle

Yo La Tengo, a post-punk group from Hoboken, N.J., has delivered one of the best alternative albums of the year: the playful, ambitious, seductive “I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One.” Reminiscent of its New York neighbor Sonic Youth, the trio is also made up of a couple, the husband-and-wife team of singer-drummer Georgia Hubley and singer-guitarist Ira Kaplan (a former music critic), along with bassist James McNew.

Expectations were high when Yo La Tengo walked onstage at the Troubadour on Thursday night. Kicking off with a revved up, pulsating version of the Beach Boys’ “Little Honda,” with its line “I’ll take you anywhere you want me to,” Kaplan and crew proceeded to do just that. The group easily slipped from inky, melodic ballads to feedback-frenzied rockers and then on to joyful covers of Adam and the Ants’ “Antmusic” and indie cult hero Daniel Johnston’s “Speeding Motorcycle.”

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One of the biggest surprises was the onstage muscularity of this sound-obsessed outfit: Kaplan’s impassioned solos brought him to his knees more than once, Hubley’s drumming was sturdy yet athletic and McNew, a quiet yet gutsy bassist, shined when he took over singing duties.

Overall, whether it’s delivering swirling, noise-drenched sonic collages or plaintive pop ballads, Yo La Tengo pulls inspiration from the vast American jukebox--and does it justice. Despite a Sonic Youth-like love for noise, the group proved at this show that it has pioneered a soundscape all its own, one that reaches back to the Beach Boys and moves into rock’s ambient present and beyond.