History
Formed in the winter of 2003 at
Carleton College, the band has released three albums. First came the self-released
Tapes 'n Tapes EP
in 2004, followed by the full-length release,
The Loon
, on Ibid Records in
2005. The band signed to
XL Recordings on April 26th, 2006, and the label re-released
The Loon
on July 25, 2006.
[1] On the 25th of October 2007, the band announced that they had finished recording their second album, which is titled
Walk It Off
.
Walk It Off
was recorded professionally by producer
David Fridmann in his Tarbox Road Studio in
Cassadaga, New York.
[2] The album was released April 8, 2008.
Tapes singer Josh Grier says their first album was recorded "...in the winter time at a cabin in the
Wisconsin woods with no running water. It was a lot fun to do it on our own and get a little crazy, but it was also frustrating since we didn't really know entirely what we were doing"
thumb
Tapes 'n Tapes gained popularity very rapidly after a series of write-ups on music blogs, first on EAR FARM and then on sites such as Music For Robots and Gorilla vs. Bear, leading many to cite them as one of the most recognizable examples of the "blog band" phenomenon. However, it wasn't until
The Loon
received a favorable review from
Pitchfork Media, including a "best new music" commendation, that the band truly started to find success. Tapes 'n Tapes have received favorable reviews from other critics, and have been compared to such alternative bands as
Pixies and
Pavement, or the recent alt-pop phenomenon
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. After release of their self-titled EP, the band played with more well-known acts such as
The Futureheads,
The Streets,
Metric,
Calvin Johnson, and
I Am the World Trade Center. The band made its American television debut on The Late Show with
David Letterman on July 25th, 2006, performing the song "Insistor." In 2006 the band did a
Take-Away Show video session shot by
Vincent Moon. Tapes 'n Tapes performed at the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2007, along with bands such as
Rage Against the Machine,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, and
Björk.
Tapes 'n Tapes' musical style varies in tempo and in influence, ranging from fast-paced polka renditions to the slower, more blues-influenced songs. The publication
Music Week described the band's song "Insistor" as "Part country, part rock...possess[ing] an emotional urgency that rivals
Arcade Fire. This is promising stuff."
[3]
Josh Grier has written a lot of untitled songs for the band's next album, which was originally to be recorded in June 2007 and released in the fall of 2007, Grier told Billboard.com. During their set at the 2007
Lollapalooza festival, the band played six songs titled, according to the setlist posted on the festival's website, "Demon Apple", "Blunt", "Icedbergs", "Headshock", "Le Ruse" and "Hang Them All".
[4]
Tapes 'n Tapes was featured on the MTV show Human Giant. Aziz Ansari's character Clell Tickle: Indie Marketing Guru pushes bloggers to put Mp3s of Tapes 'n Tapes on their blogs. At one point he says, "I've decided that if you don't post that Tapes 'n Tapes mp3, I'm going to come back here tomorrow and give you a
Colombian necktie."
While not on the official soundtrack, the song "Insistor" by Tapes 'n Tapes is featured in a scene in the movie
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
"Hang Them All" appears on
Minnesota Public Radio station
KCMP 89.3 The Current's "Live Current Volume 4". The album is available to contributors to MPR.
Discography
Studio Albums
- The Loon
- (2005) Ibid Records (US) / (2006) XL Recordings (UK)
- Walk It Off
- (2008) XL Recordings
EPs
- Tapes 'n Tapes
- (2004) Ibid Records
Singles
- "Insistor" - (2005) - 7" Sold at gigs only, different b-side from later release
- "Insistor" - (2006) XL Recordings (UK) Catalog Number: XLS231
- "Cowbell" - (2006) XL Recordings (UK) Catalog Number: XLS240
- "Hang Them All" - (2008) XL Recordings (UK) Catalog Number: XLS348
Band members
The band has four members, each of whom is named after a word in the band's name; two members of the band share the same word for their name. The band members are:
- Josh Grier (Tapes 1) - guitar, vocals
- Jeremy Hanson (Tapes 2) - drums
- Matt Kretzman ('n) - keyboards, multi-instruments
- Erik Appelwick ('n) - bass guitar
In April 2006, producer Erik Appelwick replaced previous bassist Shawn Neary. Drummer Jeremy Hanson replaced original Tapes drummer Karl Schweitz in 2005 while still a senior in high school.
References
- Pitchfork: News - April 27, 2006
- Pitchfork: Tapes 'n Tapes' Grier Checks in From the Studio
- Paul Williams, "The Music Week playlist", ''Music Week'', February 4, 2006, pp. 3.
- Lollapalooza 2007 - A Day in the Life