Tapes 'n Tapes

 

Minneapolis band Tapes 'n Tapes have followed the customary route to indie stardom: rave reviews on blogs such as Pitchfork, an A&R feeding frenzy at South by Southwest and an enormous buzz. However, only two years after their The Loon debut looked set to catapult them to household-name status, second album Walk It Off has received less euphoric reviews and they are struggling to keep up with other bands - not least the one playing the larger venue upstairs. This has not escaped singer Josh Grier. "Good evening, we're Vampire Weekend," he quips.

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Tapes 'n Tapes could be forgiven for wondering why their gig isn't generating the same sold-out ticket action. After all, their jerky jams, with a smidgeon of hi-life guitar, are eerily close to the formula on which their New York rivals have rollercoasted to fame. However, Tapes 'n Tapes' juxtapositions of dynamics and texture tend to lack impact, and take longer to lure you in. Influenced by Pavement, Pixies and possibly Pere Ubu, they play quirky rock fronted by a singer who sounds like he just got out of bed, and propelled by a drummer who resembles a headmaster dispensing corporal punishment. They should turn Matt Kretzmann's keyboards up and trim the more unwieldy jams, but songs like Headshock and the pulverising The Dirty Dirty have oodles of appeal. The bittersweet Say Back Something shows that they can write simple, disarmingly lovely pop songs: perhaps they should more often. At one point, the lights go off and on again, prompting cheers, which T'nT must hope is an omen for what is still a hugely promising career.

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