Tapes N Tapes - The Loon Album Review

Tapes N Tapes
The Loon
Album Review

Tapes n Tapes' debut album comes so heavily laden with hype that it is easy to form an opinion prior to actually hearing it. The indie quartet from Minneapolis were the beneficiaries of a major label bidding war, which does increase the expectations somewhat.

Remarkably, this is a band that does give it back - when it works, the Loon is fantastic. Songs like Cowbell, Omaha, or Insistor are as good a piece of indie music as you'll hear all year - think Pavement or the Pixies, but with a Strokes-like knowingness and a Beach Boys song sense. Unfortunately, this is a massively variable disc - on the few songs when the experimentation doesn't work, you're better off just fast-forwarding.

They are allowed a few wrong turns, however, as, like Belgian band dEUS, the reward for listening to a band that is happy to take chances is huge. Whereas Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are just plain annoying in return for their quirkiness, Tapes n Tapes are a really great new band.

Rating 8/10

Mike Rea