Album Review: Tanlines ‘Mixed Emotions’
The perfect blend can be delicious and addicting when done right. Choosing the appropriate base is extremely important, however, the supporting cast of substance classifies the good from the bad. Take the Blizzard from Dairy Queen for example. Vanilla soft serve is the foundation and an array of miniature bites of our favorite chocolate candy bars follow. This winning combination has been a means for parents to shut their children up and listen ever since I can remember. While the standard is great, the obscure is preferred. I was a Nerds Blizzard guy. This candy should not have tasted the way it did with DQ soft serve, but it was magic. Like Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Twins,” it just worked together. Pulling influences from all types of world music, Brooklyn based Tanlines has been my new favorite dynamic duo. The team released of their debut LP Mixed Emotions on Tuesday and since then I have felt like a 10 year-old version of myself finding that perfect blend once again.
Tanlines are compromised of Jesse Cohen (drums, music) and Eric Emm (guitar, vocals). Their project is captivating because it is very much experimental. A mixed pot of off-the-wall ingredients that creates music that just works. The title Mixed Emotions is brilliant because of their ability to pull unique sounds together and create a rich blend. Emm’s stadium filling vocals and rich, melodic synthesizers throughout prove to be the foundation. The Nerds element is sprinkled through the record with ambiguous world drumming patterns and indentifying string instruments. Created by a machine or not, Tanlines’ sound is authentic and provides several anthems to step to.
Track, “All of Me” is their best work and is the song of the record for me. Although early in the album, this is the moment when it all comes together for Tanlines. When this song came through my headphones for the first time I immediately thought music festival. This is a song that is meant for the scorching outdoors and was created to build a summer time dance party. A 10 pound shirt and an overdose of UV rays make sense with this song.
“All of Me”
This momentum is kept as the album progresses and reaches finger snapping mode with track, “Not the Same”. Keyboards start the song and wild western guitar licks lay over the intro. Comfortable synths take over and Emm’s voice erupts. The violin makes a cameo after the chorus as the melting pot of sound grows thicker. The icing on the cake is recorded finger snapping that compliment the many elements of sound. They are unorthodox, but sensible. This is the point on Mixed Emotions where the duo finds perfect balance.
“Not the Same”
Tanlines are innovative and focused on building rhythm to hold the listener’s interest. They are outside of the box musicians that offer the listener the opportunity to embrace many new styles. They hold true to their dancehall foundation, but incorporate alternate sounds to demand engagement. Their choruses are attention grabbing and they sound like they are built for the live show. Like the Nerds Blizzard they are an unlikely combination that brings a smile to my face. I hope to see Tanlines continue to serve up off the menu type music for listeners as they progress in their young career.
Connect with Tanlines via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Brett McGrath
Tonight: Cloud Nothings in Cincinnati
Thought on Tracks favorites Cloud Nothings will bring their tour to Cincinnati tonight when they stop by the MOTR Pub. The brain child of Dylan Baldi, Cloud Nothings is touring in support of one of my personal favorite albums of 2012, Attack on Memory. A drastic style change from the previously released self-titled LP and Turning On EP, the band’s sound has evolved into an emotional rollercoaster of post-punk sound that is sure to resonate even more in person. The show will most likely begin around 10ish and, as all shows at the MOTR Pub are, is FREE. Still not sold? Well then be sure to check out one of our previous posts featuring a video of “Our Plans” along with the live performance of “No Future/No Past” below. Hope to see you there Cincy!
Connect with Cloud Nothings via Facebook
Written by Greg Dahman
Concert Review: Dr. Dog & GIVERS at Deluxe – Indianapolis
All too rarely in life, do we encounter surpassed expectations. When was the last time somebody really wowed you, went well beyond any reasonable bar you had set? When those moments come, it’s best not to speak. No need to jinx an otherwise blissful experience. It’s best to stay quiet and soak that pure satisfaction deep within, for however brief a time it may last.
Surpassed expectations were offered up in spades in the bowels of the Old National Centre last night. Deluxe, the latest addition to the historic Indianapolis venue, played host to a basement party that won’t be forgotten by attendees any time in the near future. Established Philadelphia outfit Dr. Dog offered the crowd a relentless set of songs that spanned the best of the band’s six LP’s. The evening was as much a celebration of 2008 breakthrough Fate as the newer material.
Up-and-coming indie act GIVERS brought the room to a sizzle early in the evening. The Laffayette, Louisiana natives played a high energy set, driven by bombastic rhythms and the magnetic appeal of singers Tiffany Lamson and Taylor Guarisco. The band delivered upon the strength of their 2011 debut In Light. Lamson rotated her duties between ukelele, percussion and vocals – adding textures at every step. Guarisco’s play on guitar, though spastic, was more impressive than I had expected, playing with a speed and agility influenced as much by afrobeat as indie rock. Unfortunately, the strings were largely drowned out by the drums, my lone complaint from the opener. By the time the band left the stage, the pulse of the room had quickened and a growing crowd of listeners had converted to fans.
Philly’s finest, Dr. Dog, hit the stage shortly thereafter with a couple dozen balloons in tow, signaling the start of their traveling party. And a party it was. Rather than force feed the audience a setlist of tracks from their latest effort Be the Void, Dr. Dog provided fans with a history lesson. They rolled through a non-stop stream of highlights that underscored the strength of the band’s formidable catalog. The audience repaid the gesture with raucous applause, sweat-drenched dancing and informed call and response throughout.
I lost count of the number of songs, but it had to approach 20 or more. Dr. Dog kicked things off with a few tracks from Be the Void, with the audience chiming in loudly during the blues driven “Lonesome” and bouncy “That Old Black Hole.” The band never glanced back. Personal highlights included lead guitarist Scott McMicken’s signature squeal on “The Rabbit, The Bat and The Reindeer”, “Unbearable Why”, and “Do the Trick.” Bassist Toby Leaman carried his share of the vocal load, offering up memorable moments on “Shame, Shame”, “Hang On” and new track “Vampire.”
In reality, missteps were hard to come by. The set, though loud and a bit muddled at times, was solid top to bottom. Though Dr. Dog covered the gamut, the strength of their catalog speaks to the fact that there were still a few missing tracks that I would have loved to hear. Most notably, the omission of new single “How Long Must I Wait?”. But you won’t hear any complaints from me. I would go back to Deluxe tonight and start the whole thing over again.
Written by Rob Peoni
Thought on Tracks 