Released - 1/11/11
Label - ibid Records
BLURB - Oh what to make of this Tapes 'n Tapes? This indie-rock band has been riding an enigmatic wave of success and failure for the last four or so years. They went from being buzz-worthy, to written off as frauds, to teeming with potential to back in the dumps. Their story can be compared to a typical teenager's identity crisis in high school. Sometimes their music is hard and aggressive while other times it's soft and gentle. They are constantly working in new directions, but never know exactly where they're pointed. "Outside" is a great example of the band's struggle to find their place in the indie music scene. Some tracks feel Black Keys-ish, others are akin to Vampire Weekend - and some venture off on other random musical tangents. Their latest record has a couple bright spots, but it's still pretty obvious the band remains uncertain as to who exactly they are.
Rating - 5.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - This review may actually turn into an attack on Pitchfork, so bear with me. A few years back just as Tapes 'n Tapes was beginning to break, their latest record, 'The Loon' was acclaimed as 'Best New Music' by the music site. For those that don't know, the 'Best New Music' tag holds a certain amount of weight and influence in the industry. For many artists it's more or less a stamp of approval for an already deserving release. But for others, it's often un-merited and turns into something of a curse. Due to the alarming number of people that choose what they listen to based solely on music sites like Pitchfork, their powerful reviews can often create fraudulent fan bases and a false sense of accomplishment.
The latest example of this came with Smith Westerns' "Dye it Blonde." Smith Westerns have been a slow building indie rock band that has been subtly turning heads for the past few months (I actually gave their album an 8.5/10 a few weeks ago). It's a great record. But despite their newfound success, they were still (and are) relatively unknown by the masses. A couple weeks ago Pitchfork deemed "Dye it Blonde" as 'Best New Music.' Within a matter of days their shows started selling out and you couldn't google 'indie rock' without getting 50,000 hits claiming that Smith Westerns were the next Beatles. Maybe it's true. But where did all these fans suddenly appear from? Why do they all of a sudden (days after Pitchfork released their review) think Smith Westerns are so incredible? Have the even listened to this record in it's entirety? Are they really that familiar with their music? It's extremely curious and irritating.
And this brings us back to my theory on Tapes 'n Tapes. I really think that once some guy wrote that review on Pitchfork for them, people fell in love with the band for no particular reason. They were just blindly following their music because someone said so. And so as the years passed and people actually listened to and became familiar with Tapes 'n Tapes, they were beginning to realize they weren't as 'incredible' as some writer of a web site thought. So, the moral of the story is, have your own opinion. Music is so amazing because of how universally varied it is. Like what you like, because you like it...and that's that.
Enough rambling.
"Outside" begins with a great sense of excitement in the track 'Badaboom.' The song plays like some kind of marriage between Arcade Fire and Cage the Elephant. As the song begins the percussion, along with the music, varies and slowly builds in intensity as the track forms it's course. There is a clear sense of pace, direction and movement that provides a great sense of structure and organization. As the song progresses you find yourself becoming more invested. By the end, a barrage of furious and aggressive guitar chords form a momentous bridge/outro that will leave you sore. What a great start to the album!
So after 'Outside' we're all feeling great. This is going to be an awesome, powerful, aggressive indie rock gem. Then 'SWM' happens. All of the emotion and energy created by 'Outside' comes to an abrupt halt as you hear the sullen acoustic guitars begin to play in 'SWM.' The song is stagnant, slow and boring - never really accomplishing anything. Also, for some reason, I just find the vocals on this track annoying. I really don't know why. I can't explain it. They just seem uninspired and apathetic.
Now that we're officially on the Tapes 'n Tapes roller coaster, it'd only be fitting that they through us for a loop. The third track, 'One in the World' is a fun and ambitious track that conjures up comparisons to Vampire Weekend and Fool's Gold. Clean guitars and even some horns toss around several playful hooks and melodies that will reel in just about anyone. Aside from being a great song, 'One in the World' does raise some eyebrows. The first track was a hard hitting, aggressive indie rock daliance. The second song was basically an annoying, throw away acoustic number. And now the third song is some afro-pop adventure that, admittedly, I enjoyed. What's going on?
Sadly, but predictably, from here on out the album tends to settle into a bit of slower paced indie rock, with no real excitement or solidarity. 'Desert Plane' is repetitive, monotonous and unenthusiastic. 'Outro' (which appears in the middle of the record) is actually kind of cool. There is a distinct sense of mood and atmosphere that serves as a nice interlude and break from the album's lackluster persona. 'Freak Out' plays like the bastard child of a lo-fi punk band and Fleet Foxes. It just doesn't work. 'People You Know' is another folksy track that, but actually sounds good. The song itself is fairly anthemic. There is also some actual emotion and inspiration in the vocals that helps steer the course in the right direction, while remaining calm and airy - I'd almost liken it to something off of a Real Estate record (but more-fi). This is only to be followed by 'On and On,' what sounds like a science project that Caribou and Deerhunter concocted. It's kind of electronic, but not really...it's hard to describe. But it definitely does not fit within the confines of 'Outside,' but that being said it is pretty cool.
What you have with Tapes 'n Tapes is a constant battle of trying to figure out just who they are. For me it's too much work. It sounds like they are trying to please everyone and as a result, cover too many genres without being successful in any one of them. Their music is entirely too indecisive, cautious and unambitious. Tapes 'n Tapes might be a good listen from time to time, but they remain a band that I just can't get into.
Have a listen to "Badaboom"
Tracks
1.) Badaboom
2.) SWM
3.) One in the World
4.) Nightfall
5.) Desert Plane
6.) Outro
7.) Freak Out
8.) The Saddest of All Keys
9.) Hidee Ho
10.) People You Know
11.) On and On
12.) Mighty Long
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