Tapes 'n Tapes' new album, Walk It Off, uses the textbook formula for a sub-par follow up from an indie darling. After their debut album, The Loon, received rave reviews from both bloggers and mainstream media, they decided to change the formula a bit in their sophomore album while attempting to keep their original sound, leaving a CD that just seems like a typical indie album.
Following in the footsteps of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, another victim of the formula, the Minneapolis-based band brought Flaming Lips producer David Fridmann in for Walk It Off to add an experimental flare.
While Fridmann is a valuable asset to any band attempting a more psychedelic sound, his work can only be heard on the fringes. This, combined with Tapes' own style, creates an album that shows a band afraid to stick with their own sound and to try something completely new; an album that sounds bland and has no stand-out tracks, such as The Loon's Insistor.""
The opening track, ""Le Ruse,"" throws listeners right into the CD, with Josh Grier's slow-paced, monotone vocals entering almost immediately after it starts. Like most of the songs on the album, there are faint glimmers of a really good track, but not enough for it to stand out. In this particular case, the built-up wall of sound in the middle created by Grier's shouting, fast guitars, drums and cymbals all blaring at full volume is incredible, but the rest is indistinctive from every other indie track, even with its summery styling.
Fridmann's distinctive work can best be heard on ""Conquest"" and ""Anvil,"" which play midway through the CD. The high-pitched electronic bullets and crashing waves of sound are reminiscent of songs on The Soft Bulletin by the Flaming Lips, but that's the problem: It sounds like another great indie band's work and is not distinctively unique to Tapes 'n Tapes.
Other songs, like ""Hang Them All,"" ""The Dirty Dirty"" and ""Headshock,"" are notable tracks with a little spark, impressive drum work by Jeremy Hanson and some catchy melodies. On the edges, Fridmann can subtly be heard, but does not add much to the songs themselves. What makes these tracks weak is the lack of quality lyrics, which, according to an interview with Pitchfork Media, is because the band was aiming for more ambiguity.
Overall, Walk It Off is not a great album, nor is it a truly bad album. Sure it follows the indie it's-ok-but-not-great sophomore album formula, but it is not something absolutely horrible to listen to. It is one of those CDs you could put on that no one would really object to, but no one would get incredibly excited for it either. It just plays into the background without truly making an impression, just as it will sink into the background of the indie music scene.
