[mp3] Tape Deck Mountain (NxNE Recap…kind of)

One of the best parts of great music festivals is that there’s so many talented artists to check out over the course of a few days. That being said, one of the worst parts of great music festival is that there’s so many talented artists to check out over the course of only a few days. It’s probably the best problem you can have, and was definitely one we experienced Thursday night (June 16) in Toronto at NxNE.

After A Lull finished up their percussion showcase at El Mocambo, we ran into a predictament. Tape Deck Mountain (TDM) was going to take the stage next, or we could go see Crocodiles who were playing a little ways down the street at Silver Dollar Room. We knew that TDM would be playing on our home turf in Rochester on Monday night, so we forwent their set and attended the jam-packed Crocodiles set.

Crocodiles killed it, and I felt kind of bad for missing TDM, but fortunately they blew up the Bug Jar on June 20 with a set containing brilliant mixes of psychedelic reverberated vocals, post-rock arrangements, crackling feedback, and sheer power. Like Woodsman’s set at El Mocambo, TDM’s performance was another one that caught me off-guard in similar fashion. In the studio, whether on their full-length Ghost or the band’s Secret Serf EP, the band conveys a more relaxing style. On aggressive sections in songs such as”It Goes Down” and “Ghost Colony,” lead songwriter and guitarist Travis Trevisan carries a mysteriousness in his playing that is as hypnotic as it is intriguing. On stage, the distorted hooks are more thrash, with Trevisan bending strings and using vibrato to bring in a spacey feel to even the loudest power chord.

At the Bug Jar, Matt mentioned that the TDM reminded him of Slint – the post-rock band that existed from 1986-1991 with reunions in 2005 and 2007 – in the best way possible. I was unfamiliar with Slint, but researched them the following day and couldn’t agree with him more. The near-spoken vocals, the quiet calm that builds into an explosion of sound and fury. This isn’t a sound that’s too common in the rock world these days and it’s unfortunate because the words I’m using in an attempt to describe TDM’s live sound don’t do it justice.

I spoke with Travis for a little while at NxNE and you could sense the passion he has, not only for his music, but for music in general. Over some beers we spoke about finishing up TDM’s tour with label-mates Woodsman, the San Diego music scene, how excited he was to spend some time with his good friends and fellow San Diegans Writer, and his mission to check out Niagara Falls on his way back into the U.S. from Toronto. Definitely a stand-up, hardworking guy in the music world and that comes across consistently in his work with TDM.

The band is currently trucking through the South right now with shows June 28 in Knoxville, TN; June 30 in Jackson, MS; and July 1-3 in Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston respectively; and, a tour finale July 5 Phoenix. If you’re in town for any of these shows, be sure not to miss them.

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Tape Deck Mountain // Ghost Colony [mp3] from Ghost

Tape Deck Mountain // P.I. [mp3] from Secret Serf EP

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