TAPE
OP MAGAZINE
March/April
2006
RED TANDY
EP / LISTEN TO MY SHAPES
Album Reviews
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The
common thread on these two discs is Greg Loiacono, who's one of the
principal songwriters/guitarists/vocalist in the Mother Hips and Paul
Hoaglin, who plays bass with the Hips and recorded both discs on his
one inch MCI 8-track machine with one track that didn't work on the
erase head. Sensations is Greg's solo project with Paul and drummer
Todd Roper (Cake, Deathray, Virgil Shaw). Paul's four Revox machines
were also used for frippertronics tape delays and flying parts in
live. Paul also manages to keep his Mellotron Mk II in working operation
and uses it on a few tracks. Check www.listentomyshapes.com for a
detailed track by track listing of some of the instruments used along
with some anecdotes on the sessions. The Mother Hips are a great band
from Northern California that, after signing to Rick Rubin's American
Recordings in 1994, went independent and then took a hiatus four years
ago. That the band is back playing live and in the studio has their
many fans pretty stoked. Both of these discs have some great guitar
-based rock with a California country rock vibe. My favorite track
is Colonized on the Red Tandy Ep with it's bitchin' guitar
riff. Two tracks on the Hips EP were recorded by Dylan Magierek at
Closer Recording in San Francisco, one of which was mixed by Ben Kweller
and Steven Mazur at Excello in Brooklyn.