Actually, I heard "Just Drums" before I heard the rest of the album and couldn't stop listening to it, so I finally bought the whole album. I've heard the sound on newer album is a bit more refined, which makes me a little leery since the non-refined sound makes it really interesting. If you also enjoyed the basement-y quality of "Just Drums", you'll like the whole thing too.

Great album. The Pixies/Pavement/Modest Mouse comparisons are deserved but a little shallow. (I love those bands, but am sick of the pigeon-holing). The lyrics are cryptic, weird, and passionate. The production is low-fi, but works well with the general aesthetic of the recording. Nice mixture of sounds--a twinkling keyboard here, a few chimes there--to balance out the garage tones. The best part of the album is the composition of the songs--great melodies and enough left-turns to keep things interesting.

I'm not sure why some reviewers say that this recording is rough around the edges; the band is incredibly tight. I think a lot of them have confused the musicianship of the band with production values. The songs could hardly be played better, or with more energy.

The highlights: Insistor, In Houston, Manitoba and Omaha aren't let down by the album's less conspicuous tracks. The rockabilly-driven Insistor blends well into the trippy Crazy Eights instrumental. The western swing of 10 Gallon Ascots plays well with the melancholy of Omaha. This is a very well constructed and inspired album. It will be compared to Murmur and Slanted and Enchanted when more people hear it.

I am amazed at how great this album is. It's simply an album you can listen to over and over and over and never tire of. The melodies are just this side of catchy yet not so catchy that hearing them for the 90th time brings nausea. Tapes 'N Tapes very much do have the spirit of Talking Heads -- experimentation where the results are fascinating yet still have songs as the result vs. experimentation that may be different but is incredibly boring and is different just for the sake of being different (I'm talking to you, TV on the Radio). To point out certain tracks would be a crime, because all of them are excellent, soaring, majestic and effortlessly beautiful. Highly highly recommended.

The Loon swings into full blast on the ironically named Just Drums with a swinging guitar riff, driving drums, and stylishly EQed anthem vocals. This energy never wanes throughout the album. All the songs are strong, and flow thoughtfully into each other. Tapes 'n Tapes never fails to bring maximum energy, and this is especially evident at their live shows.

The songs are melodic, hard-driving, and not a single note is wasted in the delicate yet aggressive balance between keys, guitar, bass, and drums. The musicianship is strong all the way around, but the drummer shines especially, with his virtuosic yet nonchalant style. The guitar and drums take turns defining and then bending around each song's rhythm.

The album weaves together indie rock, early 90s hard rock, post-ska, and a little bit of alt-country (Insistor), but this is not a band you can simply define in terms of other bands or other sounds. They build a sound that is all their own. The very last song, Jakov's Suite, is a melancholy anthem taking the album out with everything it has to offer: driving energy, intensely contrasting guitar tones, surprisingly musically mature chord changes and song structure, all culminating in the sad and soaring moan: "You don't move, you don't move, when you don't move, you don't move away!"

This Cd is awesome! Even after listening to it fifty times, I want more!