35 Tapes (the name of the band comes from the 35 tapes which are in a Mellotron) arrive at our ears direct from Norway. Their latest album, Fabric Of Time, consists of five songs and acts as my introduction to the band. The line-up for this album consists of Morten Lund (vocals, 6- & 12-string guitars, lap steel, Gizmotron, Mellotron, piano, organ, electric piano, Moog Sub 37, Roland Juno-60, Moog Matriarch, Shahi Baaja, Korg Polysix), Jarle Wangen (vocals, backing vocals, bass, fretless bass, 6- & 12-string guitars), Jo Wang (keyboards, organ, piano, Moog Sub 37, Moog Matriarch, Mellotron, Therevox), Andreas Eriksen (percussion, drums, piano, Roland SH-5 bass, Yamaha YC 45 organ, Roland 808) and Kai Lundewall (drums, backing vocals). In their own words, they say that their music is inspired by the prog of the seventies and that certainly resonates throughout the songs here. Eight minute plus opening track, Whistling For The Wind starts us off. Guitars clang and swirl as the whole band waste no time kicking in - a promising beginning. There's a wonderfully cold, artistically monochrome sound to the whole album - the artwork reflects this. Sadly, there isn't any whistling present. There is, however, a wonderful video to accompany this song, so do give that a view. By the time we get to second song, Crawling, I'm starting to get a sense of who 35 Tapes are and what their vintage flavoured intentions are about. There's an abundance of love for those classic, progressive stylings. Lovely guitars interact with smooth Mellotron/piano throughout and there's a certain crispness to the rhythm section which could easily be from a number of bands of yesteryear. I will need to delve into the rest of their back catalogue at some point. The opening of Art Of Falling hits us with waves of other-worldly, electronic sounds before the vocals enter. It all feels rather emotional, especially because of the vocal melancholy that the song is soaked in. "It's just the art of falling down". The Biggest Lie'has a wonderfully sweet opening as the keyboards take centre stage. It feels like a big, warm, sonic hug as the main melody sets in. Catchy and melodic, bittersweet almost, it's the most immediate song on the album. It really feels like one of those tracks that would've been huge had it been released in another time. My favourite song on the album at the time of writing. Title track, The Fabric Of Time closes the show at over thirteen minutes in length. Featuring guest vocals by Anneli Drecker of Bel Canto fame. It opens with some delightful vocal work, accompanied by guitar and it really builds upon everything that the band have presented to us up until this point. I just wish it had more of an explosive finish. I must admit, this album has taken several listens to sink in. You can tell that the band are passionate about what they do, but the subtleties of these well crafted songs have certainly taken their time to settle with me. Yet, with all this said, it continues to grow on me, as I'm still discovering new things here and there every time I listen to it. This is by no means a negative, as this is a rather intriguing release by all accounts. *** Rickalonius Monk Where to buy? |
