Yo La Tengo

About

Also known as: The Freewheelin' Yo La Tengo, YLT, Yo La Tango, Yo La Teng, Yo Lo Tengo, Yolatengo

Yo La Tengo got their name from a baseball collision story involving a Venezuelan player who only spoke Spanish, which tells you something about the band right there: nerdy, specific, and a little absurd in the best way. Formed in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984 by couple Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, the trio has been a critics' favorite for decades, even as mainstream success mostly passed them by. Their sound is genuinely hard to pin down, swinging from crushing noise rock to hushed, intimate dream pop, sometimes within the same album. The core lineup of Kaplan on guitar, Hubley on drums, and bassist James McNew has held steady since 1992, and the band's catalog spans everything from raw garage sounds to lush orchestrated pop. They're known for a surprising breadth of cover songs live and on record, and they've collaborated with the likes of Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair. Their reputation rests on albums like I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One and And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out, records that reward repeat listening and have kept their cult following fiercely loyal.