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Tapes ‘n Tapes are a Minneapolis band who were one of the big hits of South by South West 2006: but for musical reasons rather than fashion ones. They share a niche you could call “the new classicists” with bands like Dr Dog, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the wave of Canadian bands led by The Arcade Fire: rock with no hype, just substance. Influences are classic: ‘Just Drums’ is carried along on seesawing Beefheart bluesy rhythms but the key references are Pixies and Pavement. The edginess of their songs is pure Pixies, while ‘In Houston’ could be Frank Black doing a late night cabaret act. The bizarre twists and turns are a Pavement motif, and the lyrics are pure Steve Malkmus, either enigmatic “don’t you know I’ll be your badger” (‘Insistor’) or rhythmically salacious “I’ve been a better lover with your mother” (‘Cowbell’).
It’s endlessly dramatic and surprising (despite the influences): ‘The Iliad’ mixes Latin psychedelic rhythms with sea shanties while ‘Jakov’s Suite’ has guitars in supernova, all crashing chords and paranoid notes. Best of all is the desert cowpunk of ‘Insistor’, where stream of consciousness lyrics skitter out in quick time before all dissolves into a shimmering chorus of cascading melody with wild keyboard parts. They’re an ordinary looking band infected by a mad genius, who have produced an album that defies words and rewards listening. It’s still on import but track it down as it’s brilliant.
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