Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 07/04/08
Label: XL Records

Tapes 'N Tapes' progression from underground indie darlings to big label globe-trotters coincided, for some, all too happily with the 2006 explosion of MP3 blogs and aggregators. But though they quickly became the latest act to be saddled with the dubious honour of 'Internet Phenomenon', the Minneapolis quartet had the last laugh, more than delivering with debut "The Loon", a delightful indie hotchpotch full of character and invention and one of the freshest alternative records to come out of the States in aeons. Their second, "Walk it Off" is a better record than their debut, but is by no means an easy one.

There are no smooth edges here, no sonic lubrication to ease it out of the speakers and into your ears. Nor are there sugary pop thrills or instantly hummable choruses. The ubiquitous Dave "Hmm, something sounds a bit wrong, shall we just put the whole mix through a cruddy distortion pedal?" Fridmann is on production but thankfully, as opposed to his usual scorched earth approach to song-craft, here his mucky fingers just gently smudge Tapes 'N Tapes sound like vaseline on a grubby lens.

The result is a scuzzy, fuzzy sounding record that though somewhat impenetrable at first, commands persistent listens and subsequently rewards with increasingly fascinating returns. Newcomers will spot a bit of Pavement here, a bit of Pixies there, even a touch of Arcade Fire's Win Butler in vocalist Josh Grier's breathless yelp. But despite a spectral stylistic range (dreamy ballads like "Anvil" sit alongside the rollicking garage of single "Hang them All"), the whole record hangs together by dint of the care and craft applied to its construction. Across twelve tracks there is not a hi hat out of place nor plucked string that doesn't belong.

Above all, however, it's the band's measured approach to arrangement and groove that really count. "Conquest" and "George Michael" manage to be simultaneously steady and shuffling, with drummer Jeremy Hanson using the full range of his kit to let the songs amble about kicking their heels before sprinting into the distance when the moment arrives. "Demon Apple" and "Lines" - which deftly tugs and tussles with the tempo - ratchet up the intensity by such infinitesimal degrees, by the time they slam shut you may well find you're grinding your teeth and your eyes are wide with glee.

"Walk it Off" is certainly not for everyone; but if you tire of quick fix indie and are craving something a little more cerebral to get your teeth into, it requires immediate investigation.

    by Jim Brackpool