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by jon bosworth
jaxvillain@yahoo.com
It’s so rare to find a band that doesn’t sound derivative these days, that when one pops up I tend to wonder how the hell it made it to me. The labels that can effectively get CDs to people are usually so bloated and out-of-touch that you can count on the album to be un-original, or at best, un-inspired and chock full of the same old musical ideas, but with different pompous singers. Performers that assume their take on the world is so fascinating it will overshadow the inadequacy of the musicianship on the record. This is not the case with Tapes ‘N Tapes.
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Tapes ‘N Tapes recorded this release, Loon, in 2005 and sold 10,000 copies of it out of their bedroom in Minneapolis. Through blogs and the virtual word of mouth that is sweeping over our culture, they did the impossible. They made it happen without a label and now have stellar notices being run in respectable magazines such as PitchforkMedia and Rolling Stone.
With energetic vocals that have a unique timbre that can only be described as similar to Win Butler of Arcade Fire or Frank Black, and instrumentation that rests easy in the indie rock classification, but has so much more to offer. Their jazzy drums keep their eclectic rythms interesting, even when they are revising musical genres, and talent loaded into this four-piece outfit is adept at everything from Sonic Youth-like noise rock and Black Sabbath-like rock songs to tight and loungey pieces that are whispered and embrace the silence.
Tapes ‘N Tapes does a remarkable job at visiting older genres, including surf-rock and even Kinks-like pop rock that sounds straight out of the sixties. They wear influences ranging from Syd Barrett to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on their sleeve, unashamed. Unashamed because they have not plagiarized these bands, they have created a sound entirely their own through incorporating an array of live and electronic elements and layering them in a complex and dynamic symphony of modern rock to lyrics that are unassuming and sometimes sublime. The similarities can only be chalked up to homage, not a theft of anyone’s sounds. The song “Manitoba” sounds just enough like Luna to endear a Luna fan, but it is different enough to not even make the connection between the two if you were not looking for it.
Shining gems on the album include “Insistor,” which is a new take on surf rock indie, “Gallon Ascots,” which takes jazz on a fun stroll into the Strokes, and “Crazy Eights,” which is a raunchy blues song that morphs into a rock song ala old Sebadoh and sounds like it was recorded in a basement. In spite of these eclectic descriptions, the album maintains a constant mood that is energetic, experimental, and most of all: fresh.
Catch them live on October 27th at Café Eleven in Saint Augustine for a show that is certain to be unforgettable.
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