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Scraps of Tape - This is a Copy is this a Copy

Rating

RIYL

Do Make Say Think
September Malevolence
The Samuel Jackson Five
Ellis the Vacuumchild

Tracklist

1. Death as it should be
2. Hands In Air
3. Pickpockets Vow
4. Liege MG
5. How Your Heart Gets Thrown
6. Vibrancy
7. Since All The Birds Are Moving, Shouldn´t We
8. Thirteenthousand
9. Nashville´s Got Hell To Beat
10. Why Marcus Oh Why

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Recent Ratings
Rick Gebhardt

With its capital of Stockholm located slightly above 59 degrees north of the equator, Sweden is one of the most northerly countries in the world. To give you an idea of how far up north it is, I’ll let you know that this review is being written in Los Angeles, California at 33 degrees north of the equator and that no mainland US city surpasses 49 degrees. Due to being extremely far from the equator the sun rises for only a handful of hours each day during the Swedish winter. The ensuing darkness is maddening, which has led me to a theory on why Sweden has become the land of indie pop and black metal. The maddening darkness of winter can be overcome by only two ways: denial or acceptance. Denial arises from the rejection of the darkness and results in some of the most cheery and fun twee pop music out there. Acceptance leads to melancholy and angst, the anchors of black metal.

But where do Scraps of Tape fit in this equation? It’s simple really, they don’t. Hailing from Malmo, Sweden, Scraps of Tape are an instrumental quartet (previously a quintet) that completely defy and annihilate my theory by intertwining cheery upbeat predominantly instrumental rock with crunching morose tunes that make Elliott Smith look like Jolly Old Saint Nick. In 2004, Scraps of Tape released their breakthrough album Read Between the Lines at all Times which brought them much renown amongst the post-rock community and had fans anticipating a new release ever since. However, as enjoyable as Read Between the Lines was, it simply does not hold a candle to their new album, This is a Copy is this a Copy, which will go down as one of the better records of the year.

Starting off the record with chugging metal riffs on “Death as it Should be”, This is a Copy continues exactly where Read Between the Lines ended. In fact, if you play both albums back-to-back you’ll see that the last track on Read Between the Lines flows extremely well into This is a Copy. Of course, this is likely just a coincidence. However, as “Death as it Should be” continues, Scraps of Tape show us where they came from and where they will be taking us – a gloomy new place where light sometimes graces the corners of our rooms. And that light doesn’t shine any brighter than on the second track “Hands in Air” which with its joyous melody literally gets your hands in the air. However, right when you think you may have gotten a feel for what the rest of This is a Copy is going to sound like, Scraps of Tape throws up a curve ball with “Pickpockets Vow”, a short minimalist track overlain with somber vocals. As the album continues Scraps of Tape keep jumping from one style to another. However, these transitions are absolutely seamless; mixing strings and brass, jazz and electronics, heartfelt lyrics and metallic riffs, without ever making the listener feel out of place.

The peak of the album comes with the track “Since all the Birds are Moving, Shouldn’t We?” which can very likely go down as the best song of the year. Unlike the rest of This is a Copy, “Since all the Birds” mainly relies on the trademark quiet/loud technique that is predominantly found in post-rock. However, with Scraps of Tape, it goes from quiet to loud to damn-this-is-really-heavy. The two tracks following “Since all the Birds” are the most stunning on the record. The levels of breathtaking depression and sorrowful vocals on these two are paralleled by only Gregor Samsa within the post-rock realm. Both songs, especially “Nashville’s Got Hell to Beat,” make you want to curl up into a ball and get under your bed covers for days.

Ending off This is a Copy is this a Copy is “Why Marcus Oh Why”, which fittingly sums what Scraps of Tape are all about: emotion, fun, and experimentation. With This is a Copy is this a Copy Scraps of Tape provide us with refreshing and unique album that defies the standards of both Sweden and post-rock. If anything, This is a Copy is far from being a copy of its post-rock predecessors.

--Armand Babian