Customer Reviews

Walk It Off

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not a hipster. Indie rock is becoming the next big cliche in my humble opinion (think:alternative, early 1990's)

With that said , I did not listen to The Loon,(yet!) although hipper friends than me tried to turn me on to it.

I do know this- Walk it Off is one of the strongest and most exciting records I have heard in some time. The first track burst through my car speakers and I was instantly hooked. I knew that I had something here beyond the endless piles of the "next new band" that seem to come and go on an almost weekly basis.

There are a number of great tracks although for me Say Back Something, The Ruse ,and Headshock are standouts.

I have not seen many comments on this but the drum work is out of this world, driving and timely without overpowering.

To sum it up, if you like the idea of the Pixies making a love child with The Arcade Fire while David Bowie peeks in the window then you are weird. And you will probably like this record.

I am one of those people that loved THE LOON. I think this record is just as good, if not better. It is more mature and confident. The sounds are more diverse. They are not reiventing rock n roll. It is just good, catchy music. I would say that I already love two thirds of the songs. I know that there is backlash going on. And the backlashers act like they loved THE LOON all along. Well, I don't believe most of them. I think most of the people that truly dug The Loon will dig this one too.

"Walk It Off" is the second LP by Minneapolis band Tapes `n Tapes. While it shares many of the quirky guitar hooks that made "The Loon" so successful, it is clear that the band is trying to move forward. The opening song, "Le Rus," features guitar riffs that are louder and fuzzier than anything to date. This trend is also apparent in "Blunt" and "The Dirty Dirty." When this loudness is juxtaposed to the somber, dragging tone of a couple late album tracks, their much loved quirkiness just doesn't seem as charming. The effect is a record that sounds like it was made by a tired band laboring too hard to move forward.

This isn't to say that it's a bad album. "Conquest" is as great a song as they've made. And the background buzzing, beeps, and synth scattered throughout the record garnish those great hooks. It's a good album, just not as exciting and fresh as "The Loon."

What the H is wrong with you people? This album is a nearly seamless transition from Tapes n Tapes' nearly perfect "the loon" album. Not quite radio friendly (but close) like the loon, but c'mon guys, these are amazingly good guitar-driven pop songs. Walk It Off opens with a bang (Le Ruse) and stays consistent throughout. I admit, this was the first Tapes record I heard, so there's a bit of a bias here, however I implore level-headed folks to not pay attention to the 3-star reviews. My only complaint with this band is that production on some songs is muddy and sounds like you have blown a speaker (the chorus of Headshock comes to mind), otherwise I'd give this 5 stars.

Despite panning from the professional reviewers (seriously do these guys have jobs??), this is a great album with songs that are just as strong as anything on the Loon. Say Back Something is absolutely great & I don't understand why they don't play it live often, if ever. In fact the first 6 songs are all in my opinion great & I'm falling in love with the ladder as well in true Tapes 'n Tapes fashion. This band is my favorite Minneapolis band, yes ever more than the Replacements, Tapes has a wide range of talent instead of a single member.

The kind of indie rock that almost consistently misses the mark, but misses it in a slight and steady way which asks for revisiting. Some of the tracks on here sound like a more accessible Radiohead, others beg comparisons to some of the more critically acclaimed bands like this in the past five years. There is enough catchy edginess and formula deviance for intrigue, though noisy production only ends up accentuating many of these titles that start strong but finish weak in a compositional sense.

Tapes `n Tapes were one of the first bands, along with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, to be lifted out of obscurity to critical acclaim and indie fame by influential blogs such as Pitchfork Media, a trend that has only increased with the advent of such ultra-hyped bands like Vampire Weekend. Such hype has led to the accusation that bands like Tapes `n Tapes lack the kind of talent to maintain any sort of long-term career: Walk It Off tries desperately to dispel that notion, but only halfway succeeds.

The songs on this latest record are more easily categorized under indie rock than the grab bag of styles that marked 2006's The Loon, and while this increased focus benefits the overall flow of the album, some of the songs tend to sound too similar.

The funky guitar line and fixed bass on "Hang Them All" imparts a sense of urgency that characterizes Walk It Off, as if the band is desperately trying to tell someone that they matter. Singer Josh Grier's warbly vocals will either be a turn off or a pleasure depending on the listener, although on songs such as "Headshock" they make the song.

Aside from the middle of the record, which is highlighted by the tango-ish tune "Conquest" and the relaxed vibe of "Say Back Something," most of Walk It Off suffers from the Strokes Syndrome, or sounding remarkably the same throughout much of the record, that has afflicted too many guitar-rock bands in recent memory.

TnT's last album, the Loon was everything that was great about indie rock. Song features such as ridiculously heavy bass riffs, poetic lyrics that only made sense within the context of the composition, songs that seemed to have no time barriers, and structural changes that came from nowhere yet fit in beautifully within the song and album's scope. Very few albums could offer such musical variety, pull it off so well, and at the same time, show you every obvious influence they have (Modest Mouse, Pavement, Spoon, the Pixies, etc) without ripping off any of them.

I write this music review, something I have never done before, because Walk it Off is not the Loon. It's a disappointment, especially after discovering, listening, propagandizing, and cherishing the Loon in the past. The Loon, catapulted Tapes n Tapes to favorite band status.

Maybe producer Fridman is to blame. He has produced many of my favorite albums in the past, from Luna to the Lips, but here he has seemed to restricted TnT. This album is too safe, comprised of typical rock songs, with typical structures, and typical lengths. Maybe radio play was in mind here. With the Loon's "Wow, what was that? I never saw that coming, what could they possibly do next?" attitude now removed from the band's repertoire.

There are some serviceable tracks here, better than 90% of the garbage out there;

"Le Ruse" kicks off the album, loud, distorted and in your face, giving you hope on first listen that the album to come is gonna be good...but it fizzles from here, especially in the center.

"Time of Songs" is an endearing number, "Hang the All" sounds like if it was on the Loon, it would have been so much bigger. "Headshock" has a similar feel, good, but could have been so much more with a different producer, or maybe no producer?!?!

It's frustrating, so many of these songs, "Demon Apple," or "George Michael," the "Dirty Dirty" are TnT songs, but restricted by someone or something, and never come to fruition for whatever reason. "Conquest" and "Anvil" are yawners in the group.

Leaving me to discuss the "Lines," a song that is as close to the Loon as it gets. It's almost 3 songs in one mechanically, and probably features the best vocals. Vocalist Grier bends his voice like a guitar, and when it comes together, this number conveys the chaos I crave as a listener, returning to the interplay between beauty and complexity that was featured in their debut. Walk it off leaves the experienced TnT fan asking, "when will the third album be out?" They can turn this around.

The sophomore effort by this Minneapolis based 4-piece starts off full speed ahead with a rolling percussive guitar line barely eclipsed by the sound of the vocals, which act as more of an instrument on `Le Ruse'. The foot stomping emo rock doesn't stop as you make your way into the deeper cuts.

On `Demon Apple' Josh Greir's warbled vocals mixed with a loose drum beat and a tracking guitar line almost make the barely audible computer generated tones which lay at the foundation seem out of place. Yet other tracks find the vocals sharpened and staccato in a style reminiscent of much of the material from The Loon.

The punkish guitars on `Hang Them All' invoke a rawk feel that fits nicely with the lyrical content such as the 4X "And heads / Will roll". They give this song time to develop and do a good job of blending the rolling drumline with a slow and steady bass line, trailblazed by some of the stronger vocals found on this album. If you crack the case looking for a "Loon 2" start with this song.

Album highlights are `Time of Songs' with its punchy emo-bass line and drummer boy rat-tat-tat. Also, `Anvil' with its synthetic foundation and eerie guitars you'd think you were watching A.I. or Solaris. The latter is not widely regarded, but I found it a refreshing departure from the other straight down the middle Tapes `N Tapes material on `Walk It Off'.

Overall, you gotta give it to these boys, they know how to stick to a mood. Unfortunately, only a minority of the tracks develop past puberty. But if you like your music steady and consistent, you'll like this mellow rocker from T&T. My impression is that they have focused their vision a bit too much, and lost some of that random quirkiness that made The Loon so appealing when we first heard it.

-thanks for reading!-