: Legs of My Own
reviewed by Larry Crane
Forming a band in Hawaii and shooting for national recognition must be a difficult undertaking. Even to tour around your home state requires flights or travel by sea, and living in a tourist-based...
Music Reviews
by Larry Crane
: Our Blood
reviewed by Larry Crane
I've known Richard since the '80s when we both played in bands in California. Sometime in 2001 or so, Richard, J.D. Foster [Tape Op #34] and I began what was to be his sixth album. It was never...
: Grok
reviewed by Larry Crane
Crock is Sam Coomes of Quasi [Tape Op #2] and Spencer Seim of Hella. Those rock credentials should indicate that the music might not be laid back or easy listening. Much of the album was initiated by...
: Buddha Machine FM3 “Chan Fang” Buddha Machine iPhone app
reviewed by Larry Crane
I was wandering around Rough Trade Records in London recently, when a small contraption caught my eye. Looking like a see through plastic AM radio, and the size of a pack of smokes, I recognized the...
: From Blue to Green
reviewed by Larry Crane
Brad Kelly is YRLK. When I put on a partially homemade, self-released album I don't usually expect to hear something as big, epic and textured as an Elbow or Coldplay album (go ahead and chip away at...
: Party Store
reviewed by Larry Crane
It doesn't get more hypnotic than an hour of Detroit techno covers played by a band known for garage rock fun. Maybe the 21-minute take on "Bug in the Bass Bin" is a bit much, but overall this left...
: A New Kind of House
reviewed by Larry Crane
This 10" EP limited edition vinyl and download release features Portland's 12-piece Typhoon, one of the many interesting bands around town right now. I liked the sound of this album; it's big and...
: Amourettes
reviewed by Larry Crane
We reviewed the Lapins' previous album, Parlez-Moi d'Amour, in issue #63, and like that album, Amourettes was recorded and co-produced by Pat Dillett (Tape Op #79) at the now-closed Kampo Studios in...
: Ways of Escape
reviewed by Larry Crane
This long-lived project has become the sole vehicle for songwriter Ben Crum in the last few years. The country-infused songs feel very "natural" with a band-in-a-room sound, great pedal steel, strings...
: We Live in Rented Rooms
reviewed by Larry Crane
When I started Tape Op Magazine, one of the thoughts I hoped to impart (as noted in my intro this issue) was that great music could be recorded far outside of a professional studio. I would look at...
: Frames of Mind, Boundaries of Time, Looking for Anything, Release, Razzmatazz
reviewed by Larry Crane
In 1985 my pal, Jane Rovente, and I were the music directors of KCSC - a small college radio station in Chico, CA. We used to go to the post office, pick up the bins full of promo LPs in their...
: The Bluebirds of Happiness Tried to Land on My Shoulder
reviewed by Larry Crane
In issue #20 we caught Tobin post-Guided ByVoices and picked his brain about his lovely solo albums. Years on, this one is just as melodic and beautiful as ever. Recorded in his home-based Moonflower...