You Can Keep Your Arctic Monkeys. I'm Listening to The Loon.
Apr 06 '06 (Updated Jan 27 '07)
The Bottom Line Tapes 'n Tapes have one of the best new debut albums out there and should be recognized for it.
In today’s world it’s become cool to be considered indie. If you listen to music that is supposedly flying under the radar, never mind the fact that you first heard it on the O.C., you’re in almost a secret society of people that really know their music. After all, anyone can claim to love Coldplay, those poor bastards. Not everyone can lay claim to enjoying the sounds of Wolf Parade or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!. Let’s be honest with ourselves here, we all want to seem more intelligent and further up the curve than our peers. Listening to lesser known music can give you that apparent sophistication.
The problems arise when people are literally trying to be indie, whatever that even really means, to achieve some sort of status. I’m all for digging up new, obscure bands, but it should be because you enjoy the music. Not because you’ll impress all your friends.
So what exactly does one consider pure indie nowadays? Does indie refer to a sound? An ideology? An architect with a knack for adventure? What?
The answer may very well be found in the debut album from Tapes ‘n Tapes, The Loon. Despite being what I would consider one of the best albums of 2006 (although it may have actually been released in 2005), Tapes ‘n Tapes are receiving little publicity. In fact the band’s so unknown Epinions doesn’t even have them listed on the site. I’m being forced to write a General Music Review on an album that was released quite some time ago.
None the less getting the word out about this band is an absolute essential. Combining a Pavement-like playfulness with an Arcade Fire style of crafting songs it’s clear from the opening, ironically guitar-heavy romp of Just Drums that these guys are having fun making their music, despite the obvious influences they draw from.
Whether this implies the blues/rock jamming of Crazy Eights, which manages to retain interest without any real lyrics to speak of, or the dichotomy of sound found on 10 Gallon Ascots, Pet Sounds sleigh bells included, Tapes ‘n Tapes don’t relent in grabbing the listener’s attention. Just when you think you’ve had all this album can possibly offer they throw a poignant ballad at you, Omaha, or sneak in an acoustic romp, Buckle, again featuring what may actually turn out to be Brian Wilson’s long lost set of sleigh bells. Apparently some of Wilson’s magic rubbed off on those bells because many Tapes ‘n Tapes songs feature excellent harmonics that, while perhaps never reaching the level of the Beach Boys, bring to mind at least Pavement at some of their best.
The lone flaw on The Loon in my opinion would be a lack of electric, your sister can’t twist but she can rock and roll, head-bangers. Based on the sheer dynamic entertainment of Just Drums, Crazy Eights, and Jakov’s Suite I’m rather disappointed they relied on other sources more often. Many people may actually find the likes of Manitoba, which I swear could pass off as an Arcade Fire song, more structurally sound, and I can’t say I disagree. I simply love the childlike, innocent yelping in the background of Just Drums more than anything else on the album.
The other slight dilemma I find on The Loon is a bit of a slump on the latter half of the album. These songs all sound somewhat similar and take far more time to become accustomed to than say, the Pixies influenced, stop-start, In Houston.
To anyone out there looking for new, under publicized music I highly recommend Tapes ‘n Tapes The Loon. It’s guaranteed to satisfy all customers whether they’re looking for actual outstanding music or just insane street credibility. I’d have to say I hope you’re looking for outstanding music though.
Album Ranking
This is truly a tough call but I’m going to go with 4.5 stars rounded down. I’m not even entirely sure why. Just a gut feeling that these guys can do better.
4 Stars
Song Rankings
$= Great song worth your money
Download (essentially steal) = Good song
Skip= Average Filler
Garbage= Terrible Track
1. Just Drums- $
2. The Iliad- Download
3. Insistor- $
4. Crazy Eights- $
5. In Houston- $
6. Manitoba- Download
7. Cowbell- Download
8. 10 Gallon Ascots- Download
9. Omaha- Download
10. Buckle- Download
11. Jakov’s Suite- $
Mid Year 2006 top 16
The Best 30 Albums of 2006
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Epinions.com ID:
knowncutter
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Member: Dave X
Location: Scranton
Reviews written: 138
Trusted by: 23 members
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