Singles

Tape The Radio - Stay Inside

Nick Lewis 13/01/2010

Rating: 4/5

This limited 7” release is as charming as the band's nostalgic moniker. Having received early praise from 6 Music and NME, and soon to be on tour with Athlete, they're exactly the sort of band I normally raise an uncommitted shrug to. They possess that sound that 6 Music DJs love so much: equally in thrall to The Strokes and The Smiths - all scratchy guitars, syncopated drums and short release plate reverb on the vocals.

I know, *yawn* right?

Actually no. Tape The Radio manage to pull it off with grace, charm, and enough laddishness/'70s British punk to be engaging. Stay Inside has a positively Futureheads-esque breakdown and B side Keep Talking almost sounds like The Strokes fronted by a more melodic Joe Strummer. Their USP so to speak is a dash of post-rock melancholy that sounds deceptively, beautifully big on the A side (they are only a 3 piece after all) and makes the B side more of an actual song than many of their peers could ever manage. Holding it all together is the excellent rhythm section of Ben Caruso (bass) and Bryan Mclellan (drums): the bass work is inventive, the drums tight and infectious.

Tape The Radio are the reason to keep listening to 6 Music.