It’s hard to take Tapes ‘n Tapes seriously. They may seem like the latest ‘bloggers’-choice,’ over-hyped band of the moment, but where’s the drama, the attitude, the extraneous noise pollution? It doesn’t make sense—can this really be an indie band? Though their lyrics veer into the realm of indecipherability, it’s clear that these guys aren’t trying to prove a thing. The Voice caught up with Tapes ‘n Tapes’ keyboardist Matt Kretzmann last week to get to the bottom of this in anticipation of the band’s Halloween show at The Black Cat.
The Minneapolis-based quartet has been on a whirlwind ride for the past few months. Though their debut record, The Loon, was released last November, it wasn’t until March’s South by SouthWest Festival in Austin that the buzz hit. Combine this with mp3s posted on some of the most-visited music blogs on the planet, and it’s easy to see how Tapes ‘n Tapes have managed to catapult themselves into the big leagues. Kretzmann admits, though, that the band never expected all this attention: “We didn’t have thousands and thousands of dollars to hire a publicist or whatever.” he said. “It was pretty organic. It just kind of took off, we never expected anything like this.”
It has to be daunting for the band to be receiving such a positive response, considering that a few months back they were self-distributing copies of The Loon out of their apartment. Despite the hype it’s difficult to find even a shred of hubris among the four. In a scene choking on its own pretentiousness, Tapes ‘n Tapes are one of the few bands willing to leave the ego-stroking to the Killers’ Brandon Flowers.
“I try not to think about it too much.” Kretzmann said. “I try to stay oblivious because there’s no way you can channel [the hype] into being a better person or a better musician.” For the band, “the bottom line is that it’s fun.”
It’s an approach to their career and to their music that has seemed to pay off. Though their songs all adhere to conventional pop structure, Matt admits that there really is no method to the band’s songwriting.
“It’s a pretty natural process.” He said. “Josh [vocals/guitar] usually comes in with a riff or a song planned out and then we just kind of play around with it until it starts making sense. We just kind of try to avoid doing too much of the same thing.”
And it’s this variety that distinguishes Tapes ‘n Tapes from many of their indie rock peers. They’re often inspiringly energetic, like on lead single “Insistor.” Other times they’re emotive and moody, channeling Wilco-esque alt-country on songs like “Omaha.” But Kretzmann says it’s the band’s authenticity that unites the sometimes disjointed tracks “I would say it’s all genuine. We’re definitely not a put-on.”
Perhaps the guys of Tapes ‘n Tapes have stumbled upon the true spirit of indie, even if that means accepting the fact that they’re just a group of nerdy Midwesterners playing songs that are pleasant to listen to. They don’t seem to care much, and neither should we. It’s all about having a good time, and their concert at the Black Cat on October 31 is sure to be just that.
“There’s going to be some crazy antics since it’s Halloween.” Kretzmann said. “We’re super psyched about it.”
