Walk It Off
Encyclopedia
Walk It Off is the second album from the Minneapolis-based band
Tapes 'n Tapes
, released on 2 April 2008.
While their previous album, The Loon
, was produced by the band's bassist and producer
, Eric Applewick, and was recorded in a friend's unfinished basement studio, Walk It Off was recorded by producer, David Fridmann at Tarbox Road Studio in Cassadaga, New York
. The album has 12 tracks, although it was originally planned to have fifteen. The first single released for the album was "Hang Them All".
The critical reception to the album was generally favourable, scoring a rating of 61% from MetaCritic
.
, Grier said the band would wait until their April tour before playing any new material to make sure the lyrics were written, so the songs wouldn't sound like "[mumbled] words." The band announced on October 25, 2007, that recording for Walk It Off was finished. Grier commented that the band tried to make sure each song had its own personality and sound. He explained that there would be material on Walk It Off that would differ to songs the band played previously, because the band intentionally experimented with new sounds.
Grier said that the band wanted to make a rock record without any over-indulgences, and focused on creating music where the songs sounded like the band playing songs instead of a "crazy orchestration". He also said that he wanted the music to sound the same when performed in front of a live audience.
Grier stated that some of writing for the album took place on the two months before the band recorded in the studio. The recording process was said to entail Grier writing the song, adding "all the music" and then the band would meet up and practice together to "figure out everybody's part". Grier said the last part of the process would be to add the vocals of which he would "make words kind of to match the sounds" and finally make additions and amendments to the vocals or writing whilst the band were in the studio.
Grier said of the recording process that it was "cool" to be able to live at the studio as it enabled him to "work on stuff all day and mess around with it and work on stuff all night if [he] wanted to." However, by the end of the first couple of weeks, Grier said he was "definitely ready to be done in the studio for a little bit."
reported a rating of 61%.
Heather Phares of Allmusic discussed the pairing of Dave Fridmann
with Tapes 'n Tapes, and said that, "while teaming a quintessential indie rock producer like him with a band of indie rock classicists like Tapes 'n Tapes might seem like a good idea on paper, it doesn't quite work".
Many reviewers compared Walk It Off to the band's debut album, The Loon, as with Jessica Braham of the BBC
, who said that Walk It Off was a poor follow-up, and said it was difficult to believe that Walk It Off was by the same band who released the "innovative, abstract, and gritty debut album, The Loon". Phares said, "Nothing makes as much of a visceral impact here as songs like "Insistor" did on The Loon [...] often, it feels like there's fog or a glass wall between the music and listeners' ears".
However other reviewers felt that the album followed in a similar vein to their debut, with Billboard stating that, "[The Loon] was characterized by fuzzy vintage cool, and it's followed here with a much more frustrated version of the same", whilst others said that Walk It Off was different to their debut but that the change in sound was positive; "It doesn't match its predecessor but it's a banquet of sound well worth feasting on."
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Tapes 'n Tapes
Tapes 'n Tapes
-History:Formed in the winter of 2003 at Carleton College, the band has released four albums. First came the self-released Tapes 'n Tapes EP in 2004, followed by the full-length release, The Loon, on Ibid Records in 2005. The band signed to XL Recordings and re-released The Loon on July 25, 2006...
, released on 2 April 2008.
While their previous album, The Loon
The Loon
The Loon is the debut album of the Minneapolis-based band Tapes 'n Tapes. It was originally self-released by the band's own Ibid Records on October 28, 2005 on compact disc...
, was produced by the band's bassist and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, Eric Applewick, and was recorded in a friend's unfinished basement studio, Walk It Off was recorded by producer, David Fridmann at Tarbox Road Studio in Cassadaga, New York
Cassadaga, New York
Cassadaga is an incorporated village located in Chautauqua County, New York, in the United States. The village is located within the northeast corner of the Town of Stockton, east of the village of Stockton, south of and immediately adjacent to Lily Dale in the Town of Pomfret, and north of the...
. The album has 12 tracks, although it was originally planned to have fifteen. The first single released for the album was "Hang Them All".
The critical reception to the album was generally favourable, scoring a rating of 61% from MetaCritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
History
In March 2007, Josh Grier announced that a variety of new untitled songs had been written after an extensive bout of touring that began in January 2007. In an interview with BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Grier said the band would wait until their April tour before playing any new material to make sure the lyrics were written, so the songs wouldn't sound like "[mumbled] words." The band announced on October 25, 2007, that recording for Walk It Off was finished. Grier commented that the band tried to make sure each song had its own personality and sound. He explained that there would be material on Walk It Off that would differ to songs the band played previously, because the band intentionally experimented with new sounds.
Recording
Josh Grier stated that "having a budget was awesome" as it allowed them to have a studio where the band could get the sounds they wanted, including real drum sounds, as last time they had recorded the drums "in a place that had six-feet ceilings".Grier said that the band wanted to make a rock record without any over-indulgences, and focused on creating music where the songs sounded like the band playing songs instead of a "crazy orchestration". He also said that he wanted the music to sound the same when performed in front of a live audience.
Grier stated that some of writing for the album took place on the two months before the band recorded in the studio. The recording process was said to entail Grier writing the song, adding "all the music" and then the band would meet up and practice together to "figure out everybody's part". Grier said the last part of the process would be to add the vocals of which he would "make words kind of to match the sounds" and finally make additions and amendments to the vocals or writing whilst the band were in the studio.
Grier said of the recording process that it was "cool" to be able to live at the studio as it enabled him to "work on stuff all day and mess around with it and work on stuff all night if [he] wanted to." However, by the end of the first couple of weeks, Grier said he was "definitely ready to be done in the studio for a little bit."
Lyrics
The album's lyrics were said to be different from previous songs, as the band wanted to "try some different things out" and "not do the same thing all over again." Grier voiced that the songs were written to have ambiguous meanings and were written with the intent of letting the listener interpret the meanings themselves. In addition, Grier said that there were some songs that he "spent a little bit more time on" and that he was "definitely happy with how everything turned out."Album title
Grier said the title of the album was suggested by drummer, Jeremy Hanson, who liked the idea of Walk It Off.Critical reception
The critical reception to the album was generally mixed. Based on 21 reviews, review aggregate website MetaCriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported a rating of 61%.
Heather Phares of Allmusic discussed the pairing of Dave Fridmann
Dave Fridmann
Dave Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. From 1990 onwards he co-produced all releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips...
with Tapes 'n Tapes, and said that, "while teaming a quintessential indie rock producer like him with a band of indie rock classicists like Tapes 'n Tapes might seem like a good idea on paper, it doesn't quite work".
Many reviewers compared Walk It Off to the band's debut album, The Loon, as with Jessica Braham of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, who said that Walk It Off was a poor follow-up, and said it was difficult to believe that Walk It Off was by the same band who released the "innovative, abstract, and gritty debut album, The Loon". Phares said, "Nothing makes as much of a visceral impact here as songs like "Insistor" did on The Loon [...] often, it feels like there's fog or a glass wall between the music and listeners' ears".
However other reviewers felt that the album followed in a similar vein to their debut, with Billboard stating that, "[The Loon] was characterized by fuzzy vintage cool, and it's followed here with a much more frustrated version of the same", whilst others said that Walk It Off was different to their debut but that the change in sound was positive; "It doesn't match its predecessor but it's a banquet of sound well worth feasting on."
Track listing
All songs written by Josh Grier.- "Le Ruse" – 2:56
- "Time of Songs" – 3:42
- "Hang Them All" – 3:00
- "Headshock" – 2:48
- "Conquest" – 4:14
- "Say Back Something" – 3:12
- "Demon Apple" – 4:30
- "Blunt" – 3:10
- "George Michael" – 4:02
- "Anvil" – 3:34
- "Lines" – 4:03
- "The Dirty Dirty" – 5:02
Band members
- Josh Grier – guitar, vocals
- Jeremy Hanson – drums
- Matt Kretzman – keyboards, multi-instruments
- Erik Appelwick – bass guitar