With their debut album, THE LOON, Minneapolis quartet Tapes n' Tapes took the indie music world by storm, riding a wave of critical acclaim and enthusiastic word-of-mouth from obscurity to the semi-obscurity that is indie stardom. The album is a collage of fractured, melodic bits artfully combined into wonderfully listenable songs. The structures are unconventional but organic, lending a warmth and even coziness to the album as it reference all your favorite bands, from Pavement to the Pixies to the Talking Heads.
For all the post-punk influences, though, the arrangements and the meandering, seemingly improvised structures also have a slight jam-band feel. "Cowbell" begins by laying down a rhythm that splits the difference between punk and polka before moving into a series of shredded melodies. "Manitoba" is a lullaby of clear-as-bells guitars and lilting vocals that gradually morphs into something stronger and stranger. THE LOON is consistent only in its unpredictability, in having a happy surprise around every corner.
Tapes 'n Tapes have earned the love of music bloggers, music buyers, and fans across the country, selling over 10,000 copies in the US since the November 1st release of "The Loon" on their self run record label. Their sound is the basement indie of Pavement, the eclecticism of Talking Heads, and the frenzied power of The Pixies, but with a vital, thrilling, and unique blast of energy and melody that has rarely been combined before. "At SXSW, two of the most extraordinary bands defied categories and tore apart verse-chorus-verse forms. Tapes 'n Tapes were rhapsodic, with songs that metamorphosed from reticence to frenzy and back" - The NY Times.Rolling Stone (p.66) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Their debut, THE LOON, holds together thanks to its tight, jumpy grooves, even as it moves sideways and forward at the same time, laying catchy, off-the-cuff melodies over guitar blurts and shadowy near-jazz patter."
Spin (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[They] play agile, herky-jerky guitar rock with wild curves and weird textures, augmenting singer Josh Grier's slacker mumblings with sharp musical know-how."
Spin (p.57) - Ranked #29 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "THE LOON is way loonier than it first seems, with injections of cross-eyed country, bits of blues, and whatever else yields the band joy."
Entertainment Weekly (p.67) - "THE LOON excites with twisty guitar tangents, an airtight country two-step, and commanding choruses..."
Q (p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Displaying many of the wry and occasionally beautiful mid-'90s alt-rock shapes thrown by the likes of Pavement, Guided By Voices and Sebadoh before them..."
NOT BAD - PRETTY GOOD
2006 Indie highlight
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