Tapes n Tapes / Land Of Talk

Thank god the gig was in a cave. Being Scottish and fair haired, the summer sun tends to sear my skin, for instance, the crown of my head turned somewhat scarlet after merely walking around Glasgow the entire day. So, it was with a happy sigh of comforted qualms that I descended the stairs framed by cracked, white-painted walls strewn with poster for gigs yet to come, down, into the cave-like basement that is The Stereo's live venue. Even though it is hardly wider than the alley it sits next to, the room managed to maintain it's cool for some time. Which was a blessing.

"We're Tapes 'n' Tapes." said singer/guitarist Elizabeth Powell when Canadian three piece Land Of Talk walked sedately on stage. With a wry giggle they play some the most intelligent, alternative music around these days. Powells' delivery is such as, that despite the distorted, dissonant, minor ninths that lilt above Eric Thibodeau's outre powerful drums, that she managed to develop an almost hypnotic effect. Her voice effortlessly glided over the chaos.

I spoke with bassist Chris McCarron after the gig, while he was on a grassroots merch campaign, keeping change in his, ahem, 'fanny pack'. It seems, they are rather busy, supporting Tapes 'n' Tapes for the remainder of their tour and subsequently heading back home to Ottawa to begin their trail of the American Festival circuit. "Tonight was a really cool show," he said in his exhausted tone, in between thanking satisfied punters and counting change.

The band are as relaxed onstage as they are off, down to earth, and it's no wonder that with hindsight, after listening to their E.P. 'Applause Cheer Boo Hiss' that McCarron winced slightly when I mentioned Sonic Youth. "Well, yeah we love Sonic Youth, but y' know..." He was right to wince, however, as it is the most likely slap dash interpretation of their sound. There is more to it. 'Young Bridge' is a simply stunning slice of laid back sweetness, with a melody that Sonic Youth don't produce. Just so perfect for the low hanging sun, something I got to enjoy while I enjoyed a cigarette, mulling the melody over. I hope to see this band sometime in the near future.

After the band performed their own soundchecks and came down the stairs from the dressing room, only to stand in the hallway and wait for a bit, turn around and head back up the stairs, Tapes 'n' Tapes begin with the great instrumental 'Jakov's Suite'. I was sure that multi-instrumentalist Matt Kretzman was a new band member, until I realised that he wasn't wearing the distinctive fluffy hat he adorned at the Corn Exchange last year in Edinburgh.

Throughout the set, the vocals were ill-defined as Josh Grier's vocals seemed coated in fur, lacking definition amidst the fury of his red Stratocaster. That did not seem to dampen the crowd or slow the momentum of the band in any way, shape or form. Being the considerate lot the crowd were, the venue didn't cramp up no-one was squashed like crying teenyboppers or metal-heads, and yet I was still allowed to enjoy Minnesota's best, plying their adrenaline-powered angst-rock in comfort and with wonderful bleeding ears.

'Omaha', was a particular highlight, the band melding seamlessly with the Korg sampler. On form again that night was drummer Jeremy Hanson, who regardless of his, 'roll 3D6 look' has a powerful and technical style surpassing many of his peers in the industry who use triple the number of drums. 'Insistor' was incredibly visceral, when it bit the crowds heart in two, and 'Hang Them All' was so good it left the crowd cheering "One more tune! One more tune!" which constituted tonight as, "You don't play, we riot!" Go out and buy 'Walk It Off', or 'The Loon', if you haven't already, you don't know what you're missing. That's probably because you were stuck sitting in, wondering if Britain has any talent at all, or if it was Graham, John or Andrew's turn to be Nancy tonight.

Jakov's Suite
Le Ruse
Headshock
Omaha
Conquest
Blunt
10 Gallon Ascots
Say Back Something
Manitoba
Demon Apple
Cowbell
Just Drums
Lines
The Dirty Dirty
Insistor
Hang Them All

FUTURE GIGS

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