When we last left Tapes 1, Tapes 2, 'n, and the other 'n; their most natural step was backward. The Loon was swelling with so many ideas: 90s slacker rock and 00s garage blues battled for supremacy, an instrumental track, few familiar checkpoints from any of the dominant scenes. In short, it was a beautiful mess. It would have been easy enough to retreat to lamer ground: witness Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's move from TnT's kitchen sink approach on Broom to the play-it-safe Pershing. Producer David Fridmann and the band clearly had something to say on Walk It Off, though.
TnT really come into their own on this record, refining their sound a great deal. They continue to split between Pavement and The Black Keys. Fridmann puts the pieces together nicely: drums and vocals right up front, with crunchy guitar and organ filling in. The band meshes best on "Hang Them All", which may be the year's best rock song so far, and "Demon Apple". Josh Grier's vocals still cover the range of distorted howls and Isaac Brock's passionate growl/yelp. With the general refinement of their sound, the band have landed dead centre in Modest Mouse territory, with a dash of post-Strokes rhythm tossed in.
Grier's lyrics are certainly the weak point of the album. While his material on The Loon was something like clever inscrutability a la Thom Yorke, this time around, they're just vague. This is worrying, as guitar riffs have become less central and the record risks becoming a drummer's showcase with a vocalist yelling tough guy-like slogans like "over line!" into the microphone.
Still, this reviewer appreciates the honesty of Walk It Off. Tapes 'n Tapes owe nothing to spacey LA, hungover New York, whiny Omaha, or overwrought Toronto. They don't wheel out the harpsichord or 40 piece orchestra. They mayn't be trying something new, but they're trying something fresh: making a rock and roll record.
8.0/10.0
-RJR
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