Tapes ’n’ Tapes
Radio Radio
Aug. 9

Tapes ’n Tapes

Tapes ’n Tapes don’t exactly put on a thrilling live show. 

At peak moments, Saturday’s set was a blistering, raucous and fevered experience. The band is most effective when their songs straddle the line between order and chaos (“Insistor”) and dissonance and melody (“Hang Them All”). And they hit the hardest when songs seem to careen along the edge, as off-kilter drum patterns and rhythmic shifts in “Just Drums” suggested. 

Credit should be laid squarely on the shoulders of the band’s sensational drummer, Jeremy Hanson. Singer and guitarist Josh Grier is obviously the leader of the band, but Hanson is the glue holding the outfit together. 

Particularly on the aforementioned “Just Drums,” Hanson demonstrated how a simple drum pattern in an awkward arrangement can absolutely propel a song to greatness. He’s a truly engaging drummer, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. 

Grier, keyboardist Matt Kretzman and bassist Erik Appelwick nicely fill this band out. Grier’s raging yawps and howls recall Pavement singer Stephen Malkmus. 

But for much of the band’s set, I found myself drifting, particularly during the band’s vastly inferior “Walk it Off” material. Tapes ’n Tapes simply don’t have enough great material to pace a set without gaping holes. To get to “Just Drums,” one has to sit through half-baked versions of songs from “Walk it Off.” And that’s no fun.