Sometime new acts blow onto the music scene like an unforecast hurricane, taking the world by storm in a single Force 12 blast of hype and excitement. But not always.
Enter The Blank Tapes, a folky, lo-fi (largely) one-man band, otherwise known as Bay Area local Matt Adams. Released last fall, his latest album Daydreams arrived with a ripple rather than a splash. But, at 26 tracks and a fill-that-CD-to-the-edges 79 minutes long, there is a lot to chew on. Perhaps it isn’t surprising that it’s taking us all a bit longer than usual to catch up.
Of course, the fact that it was released through his own Matty-Made Music label probably doesn’t help either. And the fact that it is self-recorded and self-released goes some way towards explaining a slight lack of… no, not quality control. Long it may be, but padded with fillers it ain’t. Perhaps “restraint” is a better way to put it.
Because while Daydreams may be a bit untidy in terms of structure, it’s also chock full of excellence: overflowing with it in fact. Every time you hit play, another gem pops out from the crowd. But overall it’s just too much, like trying to eat a family pizza on your own.
Adams is, apparently, aware of the problem. As he says on his MySpace page (in response to an earlier review pointing out that Daydreams may be a little, y’know, lengthy): “yes it’s true, my albums are f@#king long. Oh well, I can’t seem to change that.”