The Tape

In anticipation of Coachella, we’ll be bringing you more news, tracks, albums and info on bands playing in Indio. With Teen Dream Beach House have perfected their sound, filling it out and creating an ambiance that has been hinted at in their previous albums but never fully achieved until now. This is an album that, like few others, deliberately transports the listener into a world that band has meticulously created. “Norway” is the most powerful track on the album, at once anthemic and subtle, and Victoria Legrands’ whispery-strong vocals carry this track, like all the others on the album. The opener, “Zebra”, in comparison to “Wedding Bell” off of Devotion, Beach House’s last album, is markedly more serious, but maybe taking themselves more seriously is a good direction for the band. Their sound and style fits better in a somber setting than the lightheartedness that threw me off while listening to Devotion. Use of organs is also noticably more absent from this album, which I also appreciated. In all, Teen Dream is an extremely strong album that will be unimaginably difficult to top, but at the same time I have no doubt they can do it. Their set at Coachella is highly anticipated by everyone at The Tape.

Beach House- Norway

Yeasayer released the second single for Odd Blood today, giving us “O.N.E.” Odd Blood is labeled by many as a “top heavy” album, but I find that tag to be wildly inaccurate. After many listens, the record unfolds itself more and more with time. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. But, I’ll talk more about the record as a whole as we get closer to the release date. “O.N.E.” is the fifth track on the record, serving very well as a divider between the first half and the second. The track is as funky as it is intelligent and melodic. Chris Keating’s vocals soar on the track, with synths and blips and cowbells all finding their way into the track. A steady kickdrum pulses its way throughout the entire track, giving this song a real dance-y feel, while still capturing that pop sound they so heavily sought after on this record. The chorus, “No, you don’t move me anymore, and I’m glad that you don’t, ‘cuz I can’t have you anymore” is sung over a funky slapped bass line, with a really groovy synth finding its way into the second part of the chorus. The breakdown may be my favorite part of the track, with Keating singing bits and pieces of the chorus over a manipulated string part. The juxtaposition between this and the chorus builds up until it explodes back into the chorus one last time. A wonderful track that gives the listener a short summary of what Odd Blood is all about; catchy pop music with extremely intelligent performances from the entire group. Download “O.N.E.” below, and pre-order the record here (LP or CD).

Yeasayer- O.N.E.

A few of us at The Tape are huge fans of Kristian Matsson, aka The Tallest Man On Earth. With that being said, we’re all so excited by the news that came to us this morning. Matsson has just signed to the wonderful Dead Oceans, and he’ll be releasing a new record, The Wild Hunt on April 13th. This will be his second album, following up the insanely good Shallow Grave. If you remember, back in March Tristan and I saw a Tallest Man show and I reviewed it here. The reason I bring this up is because I talked about one song in particular, and that was the previously unreleased “King Of Spain.” As luck would have it, “King Of Spain” is The Wild Hunts‘s first single, and you can download it below. It’s absolutely fantastic, and I encourage everyone to snag it. It seems like this album is going to be pretty similar to the previous one, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It also turns out that he previewed a couple more songs off this record at the show we were at. Check out the full tracklist below, and make sure to download “King Of Spain.”

The Wild Hunt
01. The Wild Hunt
02. Burden of Tomorrow
03. Troubles Will be Gone
04. You’re Going Back
05. The Drying of the Lawns
06. King of Spain
07. Love is All
08. Thousand Ways
09. A Lion’s Heart
10. Kids on the Run

The Tallest Man On Earth- King Of Spain

The debut Inlets record is finally coming our way. Out of pretty much nowhere, Sebastian Krueger gave us the shockingly honest and beautiful Vestibule EP, which was way back in ’06. Fast forward four or so years, and here we are, eagerly anticipating the release of Inter Arbiter. The full length debut will be coming courtesy of the great Two Syllable Records, on April 20th. 10 tracks are coming our way, and I’ve got the first one for you right below. “Bright Orange Air” starts off with acoustic guitar and vocals, something we saw a lot of on the EP. Once the song finds its groove, the track reaches a new level with gorgeous harmonies and intricate drums. Some odd sounding woodwind instrument enters the song a bit later on, giving the track an ominous feel before the chorus re-emerges, resembling some of Department Of Eagles’ best work. A truly beautiful track, I’m extremely eager to hear more off of this album.

On the new record, you’ll find contributions from Beirut (Zach Condon), Tape homie Angel Deradoorian (who I believe played on the EP), and from the string quartet Osso. Check out the tracklist below, and make sure to download “Bright Orange Air.”

Inter Arbiter
1. []
2. Canteen
3. In Which I, Robert
4. Great Exit Lights
5. Bright Orange Air
6. Bells and Whistles
7. Maspeth
8. Sunfed Shapes
9. Famous Looks
10. Your Good Arm

Inlets- Bright Orange Air

The Canadian trio recently announced the release of their second record, La La Land. I caught on a little late with these dudes, but I still found some time to really enjoy their debut, Parc Avenue. In anticipation for the new record, which comes out April 20th (ha!), the band has given us a first single in “Tom Cruz.” The new record is said to be “louder, and tougher than Parc Avenue, but also smoother and more cohesive.” “Tom Cruz” chugs along, with the guitar taking a front seat to the quiet vocals. A lot seems to be going on, with a harmony part shadowing the vocals throughout most of the song. The vocals sound intentionally shaky, giving the song a sense of urgency only fulfilled when the chorus is reached. The simple but appropriate line of “dying to be friends” is shouted during the chorus, not so much a scream as it is an elegant and classy shout. “Tom Cruz” has a certain balance to it that lacked on the first record, which seems to come with maturity. I’m tremendously eager to see what this band has in store for us, so I’ll keep you updated on any news we get regarding La La Land. Download “Tom Cruz” below.

Plants and Animals- Tom Cruz

Well folks… it’s that time of year agian.

A small analysis:

One of the best Coachella lineups in recent memory. Jay-Z is the king, Pavement’s reunion is newsworthy (even if it was expected) and the Gorillaz live show  is pretty legendary. Friday has the potential for a Discovery appearance (maybe at the end of a set) with Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot playing on the same day. Saturday’s sub/headliners are a bit week, but the 3rd and 4th lines of the poster more than make up for it. Add in Girls and Beach House on the last line and you have a very, very solid day. Sunday has a soon-to-be iconic main stage lineup, with Pavement playing sunset followed by Phoenix, Thom Yorke and the Gorillaz. Don’t forget Spoon and Yo La Tengo will be tossed in there somewhere. In terms of dance acts, Coachella went pretty fucking commercial this year, the big dance draws being Tiësto, Kaskade, David Guetta and Deadmau5. Underneath the surface of that though, The Proxy will hold it down on Friday, Major Lazer and 2mandjs will kill on Saturday, and Orbital and Club 75 (which is Justice, Busy P, Cassius and Mehdi) will rule Sunday. No issues at all. An amazing lineup.

Jay-Z – Public Service Announcement

The Morning Benders were very impressive when I saw them open for Girls a little while back. The band recruited Grizzly Bear bassist/producer Chris Taylor to produce their debut record, only helping increase the buzz surrounding them. The first single, “Promises” opens with a very Grizzly Bear-esque drum part; simple but tasteful. Harmonies are a plenty, as are biting guitars. Chris Taylor really put his mark all over this record, which isn’t a bad thing in any way whatsoever. Their debut record, Big Echo will be hitting stores March 9th courtesy of Rough Trade. The band will also be putting out a 7″ on February 23rd, courtesy of True Panther. “Promises” is a great pop song, and a great first single. This is a debut release I’m truly excited for, and I can’t wait to see these guys live again.

Tour Dates (courtesy of Stereogum):
03/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Jonny Brenda’s
03/11 – Washington, D.C. @ The Black Cat
03/12 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
03/13 – Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unicorn
03/15 – Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
03/23 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room
03/25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
03/26 – San Diego CA @ Casbah
03/27 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar
03/28 – Santa Barbara @ Muddy Waters
03/30 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
04/01 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
04/02 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café
04/03 – Vancouver, Media Club
04/05 – Provo, UT @ Club Velour
04/07 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
04/09 – Des Moines, IA @ The Vaudeville Mews
04/10 – Ames, IA @ The Maintenance Shop
04/11 – Rock Island, IL @ Huckleberry’s Pizza (Presented by Daytrotter)
04/12 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
04/14 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
04/15 – Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa
04/16 – Vermont @ The Monkey House
04/17 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bear’s
04/22 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

The Morning Benders- Promises

The buzz surrounding Heartland seems to be more focused on Owen Pallett’s recent name change, rather than the fact that he created an absolutely brilliant record. Pallett may have brought this upon himself, changing his name from Final Fantasy a mere three or so weeks before the release of Heartland, but the main focus really should be the change in his sound for the new record. Pallett released two records and a couple of EPs under the Final Fantasy moniker, with his sound evolving- but still evoking his established roots as a looped based violinist. Heartland shows off what Pallett does best… Arranging orchestral pieces. After arranging for Arcade Fire, Pet Shop Boys, and many others, Pallett joined forces with Nico Muhly to create one of the best orchestral pop records in recent memory. The way Pallett contrasts catchy pop music with complex arrangements is something few have been able to accomplish on such a high level.

The record starts off with “Midnight Directives”, an opener that establishes Pallett’s voice as a force, while also introducing complex percussion (which appears often on this record), and a use of electronics. Pallett’s main instrument, the violin, flourishes in and out at the perfect moments, giving the track an extra something. The song builds and builds, progressively growing in aggression but not in volume. The strings seem to battle against each other while massive amounts of various noises are played underneath. The amount of sound coming through ones speakers at this point is overwhelming, but in no way too much to handle. “Red Sun No. 5″ is another track I love, mainly because of its tremendous percussion. The timpani drum roars in and out of the track, complimenting Pallett’s wonderful melody nicely.

While the album as a whole works together in a way that makes it hard to pick a favorite, one track still stands out above the rest for me. “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” is 5 minutes of musical perfection. The simple line “I’m never gonna give it to you” hits me in a way that is hard to describe. It may be the melody, it may be the instruments surrounding his voice. Whatever it is, Pallett executes it flawlessly.

Heartland is Owen Pallett’s masterpiece, but at the rate he’s going I doubt that this will be the last time I make that claim. A truly brilliant album, it really doesn’t get a whole lot better than this. Please pick up the record right here (LP or CD), and download “Lewis Takes Action” below.

Owen Pallett- Lewis Takes Action

If you’re a fan of WHY? (or of The Tape), you probably recognize the name Josiah Wolf. Mr. Wolf is the drummer of WHY?, and older brother of Yoni. After spending many years backing Yoni, Josiah is finally taking center stage with the release of Jet Lag. The album was recorded after Josiah ended an 11-year relationship, and moved back to Ohio from California. The record was mixed by Yoni and all the instruments were played by Josiah. “The Trailer and the Truck” is the first single off of the new record, which is being released by Anticon on March 2nd. Download the track below, and check out the rest of the tracklist as well.

Jet Lag
1. The Trailer And The Truck
2. Master Cleanse (California)
3. The Opposite Of Breathing
4. The New Car
5. Skull In The Ice
6. The Apart Meant
7. That Kind Of Man
8. Ohioho
9. Is The Body Hung
10. In The Seam
11. Gravity Defied
12. The One Sign

Josiah Wolf- The Trailer and the Truck

Jay Reatard, amazing, loved, and hated punk, died this morning at age 29. Jay’s label, Goner Records, has released a statement saying that he died in his sleep. More info, etc. will be up once the Tape gets back from vacation.