Tapes’ n TapesThe LoonGrade: A-
If you’re looking for something different to warm your ears this winter, check out Minnesota’s own Tapes’ n Tapes.
The band, named after the plentiful material they had to work from for their full-length debut, remind the listener of another indie rock band, the Violent Femmes (best known for their simple, punchy single “Blister in the Sun”). Like the Femmes, Tapes utilize quivering vocals, prominent bass lines, and simply irresistible guitar riffs. Also, there’s something inherently attractive about bands like the Femmes and Tapes who adopt such “do-it-yourself” attitudes. For instance, the album was recorded in a Wisconsin cabin with no running water in the dead of winter. Talk about suffering for your art. Indie label XL certainly stumbled upon quite a find in this foursome
Though the album boasts several key tracks, such as “In Houston,” “The Iliad,” and “Jakov’s Suite,” listeners will find themselves hard-pressed to resist the utter attractiveness and hypnotic quality of the lead single “Insistor.” The hectic rhythm guitar and the western-style lead guitar compliment the steady snare hits that accompany the verses. By the time the chorus rolls around, the band is on the verge of coming unhinged.
“And when you rush, I’ll call your name like Harvard Square holds all inane, and don’t you know I’ll be your badger.”
Even if the lyrics seem slightly cryptic, it’s difficult not to sing along especially with the conviction vocalist Josh Grier possesses. Once the song breezes its way through the bridge, an angry crunch of minimal guitar distortion, Grier points a finger at his muse, Kelly.
“Kelly, just tell me one more thing: Is it mine or is it some other ring that you wear as we lie in bed tonight?”
The most compelling moment in “Insistor” comes in the third verse when Grier builds himself up from an unsettling whisper to a frustrated growl.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Tapes’ n Tapes’ debut is how, no matter how much they actually borrow from the Violent Femmes, The Pixies, or Pavement, they manage to establish a sound that is purely Tapes’ n Tapes. The majority of the songs brim with major dynamic changes whether in speed, tone, or volume. For instance, in the opening track “Just Drums” (which, ironically, is not just drums), the verses swoop with steady rhythm guitar while the choruses thump and bump at a slower pace with the snare punctuating every lyric.
“Reeling in fog, kneeling in fog. I’ve been really better under lock.”
At the 2:30 mark, the bass creeps its way into a simple and straightforward solo while the guitar disappears for a few seconds. The rhythm guitar swells back into prominence and pulls us by the collar back into the lyrics.
“When you feel the fog, it takes all the fog. I can’t break the fog. I’ve been really better under lock.”
With kudos from respected indie website Pitchfork Media, Tapes’ N Tapes are set to finish a tour of Australia for the remainder of the year. Pick up the album, and expand your horizons!