Tape-Toons recording with Steve Albini!

So my buddy Andrew from Tape-Toons called me the other night to let me know the band is going to Chicago this August to record their new album with none other than the amazing Steve Albini! They're getting the money together right now by playing some shows and selling their debut, Gravel Love, online via BandCamp. This is big news and if you like what you've heard by them, please support them by either purchasing a download of Gravel Love or, if you're in the area, going to see them at any of these upcoming shows:

7/23/11 Rubber City Noise Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
7/29/11 Stone Tavern, Kent, Ohio

These guys are the real deal and their recording with Albini could be a real game changer, so support 'em now and you can say you heard them first! You can get more info as to their goings on at their Facebook page and get Gravel Love while you're at it. The download is great and only seven dollars, though you really should get a physical copy if you go to one of their shows. The packaging is completely handmade for each individual copy of the album, so every copy is totally unique. Seriously, you'll be sorry if you don't check these guys out soon, they're gonna rock your socks off!




PS - The BandCamp widget thing is a little weird so I wanted to note that you can check out the whole album with it, just click on the little triangle pointing downward next to the song name to choose other songs.

Tape-Toons - Gravel Love in Kent, Ohio

Late in the summer, I paid a visit to my friend Bobby at KSU. We talked music, video, work, etc. and then I mentioned that, at least at that time, I was considering starting a small record label. He asked me if I was looking for talent and I answered that the label would only handle small reissues. He was a little disappointed but then told me I had to hear this band he had been shooting a video for. We went into one of the computer labs and he punched up the myspace page for the Tape-Toons and proceeded to play their song, Mice In The Walls. It was bluesy in a way similar to the Black Keys but the performance was a lot rawer, and I mean that in every instance of the word. The vocals could have been recorded in a professional studio or on a hand-held recorder, the guitars are beautifully rough as though positioned somewhere between Kurt Cobain and a brain-damaged Jimi Hendrix and the percussion keeps you at attention as it gently moves a little off beat only to come back solid as hell. I was excited to say the least!

I asked to hear more, but what Bobby played me sounded like David Yow from the Jesus Lizard singing alongside unmixed, out-of-sync multitracks from a noise band. I wasn't sure what to make of that other than to say I was intrigued. Turns out something must have been wrong with the computer because that's NOTHING like what Tape-Toons sound like, but it didn't turn me off in the least. I asked him to see if he could get me a copy of their album and a week or two later he brought me a fully packaged and mastered CD. The package was actually created from newspaper with a handwritten track list and a giant stamp imprint on the front with the band's name and that of the CD, Gravel Love. I asked if this has been made specifically for me as it looked so unique, to which he explained the band wanted all of the CDs to be unique unto themselves so they had created the stamp, used different inks for each cover and created each case from newspaper themselves. I was impressed, but then I listened to the CD. It fulfilled on the promise of Mice In The Walls, coming across like a personalized performance from the band in your living room. It's by no means overly produced but rather an accurate representation of their sound, loose and beautifully ragged. Tracks like the heavy rave-up of She Drove A Spike, the slowed-down throwback rock of Rush To The Cemetery with it's insane drumming, the grungy depression of CEO Blues, they all got under my skin like so many heartfelt records have before. And then there is their beautiful cover of Pavement's Grounded. By now, I was reconsidering the whole not signing anyone to the label thing. Of course, shortly thereafter I lost my job and the dreams of a label went up in smoke, for the time being at least, but I knew I had to write about how great these guys are.

The Tape-Toons are Andrew Bittaker on guitar and vocals, Allen Bittaker on bass and Dylan Gomez on drums. Their album, Gravel Love, is available for purchase at their live shows with a digital release soon to be issued, and they also have an EP on iTunes named Blah BlaH which features two songs from Gravel Love and four more not on the album. They've got Facebook and MySpace pages they update frequently and are performing live at the Europe Gyro in Kent, Ohio alongside The Lorax Tree and Shank Bone, so you should get yourself there and let these guys blow you away!

And now, for your listening pleasure, with the blessing of Tape-Toons I've got two tracks from Gravel Love for you to check out. I've already posted Mice In The Walls but Rush To The Cemetery is new to these parts so grab 'em and enjoy! When their album becomes available online I'll be sure to post a link for you to check it out. Now go see them Thursday!

Tape-Toons - Mice In The Walls

Tape-Toons - Rush To The Cemetery

kind, Tape-Toons, Will Sessions and other awesome stuff!

Before I get back to the MBV posts (of which there are two more) I wanted to share some info about some things coming up and some recent releases.



kind are going to be performing live on October 23rd at Akron's Musica with Full Wave Rectifier so make sure you go! It's gonna be Full Wave Rectifer's last show and I'm so bummed! I just found out about them and then they've gotta break up? WAHHHHH!!! Still though, they rock and I'm sure everyone will continue to rock in their own fashion. kind ain't going anywhere though, they're still working on new songs and getting them recorded. Hopefully there will be some new music soon from them! But in the meantime, get yourself to Musica so you can give a warm finale to Full Wave Rectifier and let them and kind rock your worlds!


I'm going to be posting a full review for a band that's local to me named Tape-Toons in the near future. They're from the Kent, Ohio area and just pressed up CDs of their debut album, Gravel Love, and it's really, REALLY good! Because I'm going to be doing a full review of their CD and talking with them for a post I'm not gonna say much here, but you can check out their song, Mice In The Walls, via the link below. They'll have a video for it online soon which is being done by my buddy, Bobby Makar, who did the logo for us here at The Unheard Music. In regards to their sound, it's bluesy but noisy and a little out there. Very cool guys and very cool music! You can check out their MySpace and Facebook pages for more details..

Tape-Toons - Mice In The Walls



I just got to hear the new Will Sessions EP, Kindred, the other day and it's damn smooth. Will Sessions is the brainchild of Sam Beaubien who plays trumpet and keyboards and does arrangements. The new EP is a tribute to the pioneers of jazz fusion (actually the EP's proper title is Kindred: A Tribute To The Pioneers Of Jazz Fusion) and it does it's job really well. The pieces on the EP are full compositions so don't expect Will Sessions to get wild like mid-seventies Miles Davis but the record is so full of soul and the performances lively. Sam's trumpet really reminds me of Miles' seventies space funk and if that gets your interest you'll love the record. It's coming out on The Few Records and being distributed by Community Projects, a subsidiary of Carl Craig's Planet E Records. I've got a track below for you to check out from the record and it's hot! Make sure you get the EP when it drops and I'll have more info as to where you can get it ASAP.

Will Sessions - Polyester People



There have been a lot of really high profile releases this week and I wanted to remind folks of a few of them.



Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for The Social Network is out digitally as of yesterday and you can pre-order physical copies right now via Trent's Null Corporation label. As of right now you can get the album as high quality MP3s for $2.99 from Amazon but you can get lossless formats as of tomorrow from the Null Corp. site. On top of that, if you order the physical release you'll get an immediate download of the album in lossless, MP3 or a variety of formats. The soundtrack is excellent and it makes me think Trent should have done the new Tron movie instead of Daft Punk. He and Atticus clearly have a Wendy Carlos influence in their sound. Going to see the movie on Friday too. Hope it's great!



Schematic's StiLL iLL is now available via Amazon digital and iTunes! GET IT NOW!


If you pre-ordered the new Sufjan Stevens before, I believe last Friday, you should have received a free download in lossless, MP3 or just about any other format you could want of the full album, The Age Of Adz, and man is it incredible! Electronics play a more significant role throughout the album and might be a little surprising for those not expecting that sound, but the songs are as wonderful as ever and everyone should be pleased. The album will receive a normal physical and digital release on October 12th. You can still pre-order it but you'll have to wait until then for your download. If you can't wait though, you can stream the whole album over at NPR.



Neil Young's Le Noise is out and it's awesome! Get it on iTunes, Amazon digital, or at your favorite shop where you buy CDs. This is definitely his best album in years!



And just in case you missed it, No Age's Everything In Between came out last Tuesday. It's awesome and you can get it digitally or physically via your favorite shops. The vinyl version comes with a huge booklet of photos, lyrics and other imagery. It's a really beautiful release and totally worth it if you wanna spend a few extra dollars.



And on a few other notes...



Got my copy of The State's Comedy For Gracious Living yesterday, and it has the most absurd CD packaging I've ever seen. The liner notes fold out so you can compare your height with that of the individual members of The State. Totally insane! I don't know how many copies are left, but I heard that about two thousand were made available so you should head on over to Rhino Handmade quick if you want to purchase one. It's totally worth it!



Soctt Pilgrim vs. The World gets a DVD/Blu-Ray release on November 7th! I hate to say it but I may end up buying a Blu-Ray player for all the incredible bonus features. It's gonna be so SWEET!!!!!



On a side note, Cee-Lo Green's new album, The Lady Killer, got moved up for release also on November 7th! That album is gonna be sweet!




I'll be back tomorrow with my second My Bloody Valentine post, and yes, I will include We Have All The Time In The World in that or the third post. Also, I'm planning my Christmas/holiday/whateveryouwannacallit gift and was wondering if anyone out there might want to assist me. The big thing at this point is I'd like some help with the art. If you are an artist and might like to help me with a reinterpretation of something, please drop me a line and we can chat about it. I'll be asking for some more assistance as we get closer to December, but it's mostly going to be so I can have some help distributing it.

Take care everyone and see you all tomorrow!




PS - This was the most difficult post I've done in forever. Way too difficult to get all these images to work right! Hell, The State pic is frickin' sideways! WTF?