Founded in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984, indie lifers Yo La Tengo are inventors of a sound that is simultaneously innovative and classic. Since the knotty fusions of guitar feedback and organ drone of classic albums like 1993’s Painful, the trio of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew has embodied post-rock’s forward-thinking futurist impulses; at the same time, their classic melodies, country leanings, and well-documented love of covers (on albums like 1990’s Fakebook LP and 2020’s Sleepless Night EP) confirm them as timeless keepers of the American songbook. No matter the style of any given song, what might best define the group is their grasp of nuance: Even at its most incendiary, their smoldering guitar lines feel cozy as a wool cardigan, and Kaplan and Hubley’s hushed harmonies lend the music an unmistakable intimacy. Ambitiously atmospheric outings like 2000’s over-17-minute “Night Falls on Hoboken” aren’t just formal experiments: They’re proof of Yo La Tengo’s determination to follow a song wherever it leads them.