Back in 2003 a group of Minneapolis based musicians got together have a bit of fun putting together experimental jams. They were: Josh Grier on guitar and lead vocals, Matt Kretzmann on keys and horns, Erik Appelwick on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Jeremy Hanson on percussion. They soon amassed a whole heap of taped sessions before deciding to declare themselves officilally as a band. Tapes ‘n Tapes was born.
Their first foray was back in the winter of 2004, when they recorded theri self-titled, now out of print, debut EP in a rustic cabin in the woods of Wisconsin. Their 2005 follow-up, The Loon, received critical aclaim and a steady fan base began to grow. With its re-release in 2006 they got glowing praise from David Bowie and made their national television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman.
The band then toured around the world for the next few years- playing shows with the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Spoon, Cold War Kids, The Black Keys, Echo & the Bunnymen, and The Wrens. In 2006 they were honored to play Reading/Leeds, and 2007 saw them rock out at Lollapalooza and Coachella.
Their 2008 follow-up was Walk It Off was produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT) which Spin praised saying,
the tunes are tighter and performances far more dynamic and aggressive…..they can now pull off jittery punk and understated, graceful melancholy.
Their latest release Outside will be finding its way into the FRUK playlist. The album found them returning to their roots with no label involvement, after a few pretty intense years, this seemed to be needed and the results show they made the right move. They left XL, and re-launched their own label: ibid records which initially released The Loon. They called in Peter Katis (Interpol, The National) to mix the album resulting in twelve well honed tracks which they attempted, successfully, to capture the energy and vibe of their live show.
MP3: Tapes ‘n Tapes – On and On
MP3: Tapes ‘n Tapes – Badaboom
Early in 2011 the band took a much needed break to record this great session for Wolfgang’s Vault (select full screen to get the full screen effect):
Buy Links
Amazon UK: Outside
