TAPES n' TAPES

THE BAND:Tapes n' Tapes info is hard to come by - maybe that is good - keep it a secret. The best I could find to describe the band and the sound is this article from the Chicago Reader, pimping a show they had. "This free-ranging Minneapolis band reminds me of the games kids play in the privacy of their own brains--like where you have to grab hold of another piece of playground equipment before you're allowed to let go of the last one, or where you can't step on the red squares in a tile floor lest the demons get you. On last year's The Loon (Ibid) they stick to an indie-rock base but roam widely within it, .....giving way to xylophones and vocal harmonies. Their songs move along merrily .....but they never abandon one mode until their metaphorical hands are firmly grasping something else. --Monica Kendrick

THE SOUND: I heard of these guys from the always solid Gorilla VS. Bear back in November maybe and the blogs have been giving much love to them. With my usual, three-toed sloth like way of warming up to a band, I finally got hooked, to the point where I actually bought their album from their site! For those who know me, that is a big BIG step. That is a huge step out into unknown after hearing only three songs. That in itself is my recommendation to you for another BANDS TO WATCH - 2006.

While sounding in the Wolf Parade via Modest Mouse route, they kick out the alt-country psych-pop if that does it for you - AND IT WILL. I imagine this music as the soundtrack for modern day cowboy rockers at the end of cattle drive, from the hoe-down party of 'Insistor' to the subte 'Omaha'. Their album 'The Loon', came out in November and that is what they are touring off of while also thanking the blogs every night before they go to sleep for much of their success.

mp3 - Insistor EXPIRED
mp3 - Cowbell EXPIRED
mp3 - Omaha EXPIRED