Tape Shapes is Rock/Grunge quartet from Germany. Just like the way rights should be, Tape Shapes has a gender equality regarding its members, with 2 boys playing the lead guitar and drums, and 2 girls taking care of the vocals, rhythm guitars, and bass.
The Hamburg band released a new album on the 22nd of May this year. We had the chance of listen to the new album ‘Overload’ and write a review. We also had the pleasure of interviewing Tape Shapes’ vocalist, Laura Bonet.
‘Overload’ is an Alternative Rock album with a touch of Metal. 7 songs extend over 33 minutes of of powerful grunge music. Here are 4 things we loved about ‘Overload’.
1. The guitars
One of the best features of ‘Overload’ is the quality music produced by the band’s guitars. Some incredible sludgy-sounding riffs and guitar solos made marks in every song on the album. Big Cheese has probably the best riffs on the album while I’ll Do It has a super solo. Another song I enjoyed the guitars on is the final song Black Shoes.
2. The Janus-like sound
Janus is a Roman god, mainly known for being the god of beginnings and endings. He was often depicted as a man with two faces, one looking at the past and another on the future. (And that’s where the Janu in January is from)
The sound that Tape Shapes achieved in ‘Overload’ is just like Janus. One face of it is clearly looking at the past, at the classical grunge that fused Heavy Metal and Punk Rock. But another face was also looking at the future, at a new sound that is not like any other. It is true that ‘Overload’ made me think of bands like Black Flag or Nirvana. But it never made me forget that I’m listening to Tape Shapes. This brilliant inspiration from the roots of the genre to create a unique sound can be felt most in tracks like Flesh and Bones and Black Shoes.
3. Band chemistry
That’s something emotional that cannot be explained in technical terms, but there’s a certain chemistry in the band that could be felt in the album. I really enjoy demo tracks because you can sometimes feel the “friends getting together in a garage and jamming”-like feeling in them. And that is, in my opinion, one of the most impressive things about Rock and Roll. Now of course ‘Overload’ had a much better quality than music you could hear in an attic demo. But the band and the producer managed to leave a band’s signature, a feeling of genuine Rock and Roll, deep into the studio album. Great job.
4. Favourite song: “I’ll Do It”
The first track on the album managed to capture our full attention and getting us to leave whatever we’re doing and just sit there and enjoy. A very great song with some good guitars and a beautiful guitar solo.
We recommend‘Overload’ to all fans of Punk Rock, Metal, Alternative Rock and Grunge. The album is one that you’d definitely enjoy and that should not be missed.
Ratings
The FemMetal Team has given the album the following rates:
Betty
7.5/10
Mirk
7.0/10
Rebecca
6.5/10
Total
7.0/10
Interview
We talked with Laura, vocalist of Tape Shapes about her music, her band’s brand new album and many other things! Hope you enjoy this interview!
Hello Laura. Great to talk with you. How are you and the other members of Tape Shapes?
Hi, we are all fine thanks and back to the rehearsals already 😉
That’s great to hear! We’re going to talk about your album ‘Overload’, but first would you like to tell our readers about your band? How did you guys meet and form up into Tape Shapes?
We met 6 years ago when I moved to Hamburg and was looking to form a band again, I’ve met Dominik and Elena who just left their last project and were also trying to find people with the same musical interests. After playing with some different drummers we met Simone with whom we recorded the last album “Overload”.
You released ‘Overload’ in May. How are you feeling about the reception the album received so far from the fans and listeners?
We are very happy about all the resonance that the album is getting, some of our songs like “I’ll do it”, “The Decision”, or “Overload” are the most played on Radios, Podcasts and Spotify Playlists. Also some amazing Reviews have been done by the hand of Music enthusiasts and by now it’s all good feedback from the fans and friends 🙂
How would you describe the overall sound of the album?
I think what we’ve tried to introduce on this album is our love for Stoner music, tribal sounds, eccentric guitars, hurtful screams, but without forgetting our Grunge roots, the mix is ruff and hypnotic, it’s like we finally found our balance between all the styles that we love as a band, and as individual beings.
In order to talk more about ‘Overload’ let’s play a game. I’ll tell you a task and you’ll have to pick one of the songs on ‘Overload’ to best fulfill that task.
Which song on ‘Overload’ would you use to introduce someone who hasn’t heard you before to your band?
The Decision
Which song on ‘Overload’ would you recommend to a friend going through something and in need of encouragement?
I’ll do it
Which song on ‘Overload’ would you use to introduce an alien from a planet that doesn’t have music to what music is?
Inside the magnet
If all the songs on ‘Overload’ came to life and became human, which song would be your best friend?
Flesh and bones
Finally, if you get to perform one song to an audience that includes Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, which song from ‘Overload’ would you pick?
Overload
Thank you for playing Laura. Hope you had fun!
It was fun thanks!
I’ve noticed you have some interesting tattoos. Would you like to tell us about them? How many do you have and what are they?
By now i have 13 tattoos, I started with the first one on my neck when i was 19 years old and I spent a year living in Colombia. Most of them are reminding me a period of my life which was crucial or intense for some reason, they talk about my passions which are Music and the love for all the animals, Veganism is a recurrent motive on my lyrics and on my skin.
Have you ever been treated in a racist way? How would you deal with discrimination based on gender and what advice do you give young women around the world who face racism every day at work or school?
I haven’t felt racism directly to me but I’ve seen it very close.
Gender discrimination on the rock scene is a very big theme, even though every day more and more women are on bands, playing instruments, managing, designing covers, singing and composing, there are always skeptical eyes toward us. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big or a small festival, it is always 90% All male against 10% Gender mixed or All women bands. We would love to see more variety and to feel more represented on the Stoner/Grunge/Alternative/Punk/Rock/Metal scene, and hope that through projects like “Fight like a grrrl” the numbers will increase.
Do you remember the first time you performed live on a stage? How was it and what were the feelings you had back then?
When I was 16 I was in a band with my cousin and his classmates, we did some covers from Nirvana, System of a down, Led zeppelin, Deep purple, RHCP, etc…and performed in their school, it was so much fun, I’ve been always a kind of shy and quiet person, and Music gave me the opportunity to express my feelings from a young age.
Aside from music, what hobbies and activities are you interested in?
I’m a Vegan cook and I enjoy creating new recipes, taking the pictures, and posting them on my Blog and social media, it’s a very relaxing thing to do and till now it’s what I did as a formal Job. Though being the Social Media manager from the band I’m getting into the business and I find it quite interesting.
Thank you for the interview Laura! It was a pleasure to talk with you.
It was a pleasure for me too, thank you very much!
