Tascam Tapes. DeWolff

I'll admit, I did not run to my local retailer to get Tascam Tapes. With the last two albums a little DeWolff fatigue had set in. It started to sound a little like more of the same. Still exiting but familiar.

When TV program 'Het uur van de wolf', what's in a name?, showed a touring film of the band and I had time to spare I decided to watch it and saw how the band created this record. Hearing shards and pieces of the work, I decided to run to my retailer any way and bought the album without listening first. (Something which is totally obsolete in 2020. Everyone can know an album before buying it. If bought at all of course.)

What I saw and heard on TV spoke volumes to me. The hard life on the road came through, all got sick at some point in time, while the work continues. So much for the romantic band life. What the band did is perhaps unique. Instead of hanging around where ever, they recorded everywhere they could. In the back of the van, backstage, somewhere along the road, in hotel rooms. The recordings were made on an old Tascam cassette deck, in the end two, as the things kept breaking down. The 50 bucks on the front must be the tapes used. Not all the repairs and time put into it.

What this process did, is get the band out of its comfort zone. The luxurious studio in the catacombs of Utrecht's inner city was left behind. A drum computer, a small synthesizer and a guitar is almost all that can be heard. Sitting cramped in the back seats of a van the songs were created. It leaves tons of room within the songs and that space gives the music of DeWolff a hint of emptiness that underscores all that does happen. Like the harmonies of the Van der Poel brothers.

The songwriting skills of the band are quite alright as always. The limitations put on the creative and recording process makes the soulfulness of the band shine through more. Little funky stuff comes forward in ways that I had never heard before from the band. A vulnerable side to the band is revealed, that offers totally new avenues to explore in the future.

The film shows how hard it was to remain focused while the weeks long, two-legged tour through southern and middle Europe continued. Weariness sets in and even youngsters wear out at some point. The result is still something they could come home with. The sound and feel of Tascam Tapes show that the band resisted to start overdubbing or do everything again in the studio any way. The result is a pearl in the repertoire of DeWolff. Another, that the band can do most anything it likes on its next record. The album ends with an almost pop tune called 'Life In A Fishtank'. Bluesy harmonica playing brings the link with the start of the album, 'Northpole Blues', the most, electronic break aside, classic DeWolff song on Tascam Tapes, with its the bluesy southern rock riffs flying around.

It is always nice to be proven wrong where a good record is concerned. DeWolff is masterful on Tascam Tapes in a way I did not know the band had it in it. DeWolff does and I have another record I truly like a lot.

Wo.

You can buy Tascam Tapes here:

https://www.dewolff.nu/#/home


or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g