Before the age of MP3, Minidisc and CD, everyone consumed their music via the trusty cassette tape.

Despite being ridiculously fragile and vulnerable to breaking at the slightest opportunity, this is what was used to listen to whatever crap was popular at the time.

We hope War Tapes are spreading the love of the cassette and er… are waging war on MP3. There we go, crap introduction over. Despite the connotations of violence and death that war conjures up, War Tapes instead create that feel good indie/post-punk music that isn’t dependent on a solitary riff to ride them to success from start to finish.

In the UK, we currently have lots of indie bands that quite frankly seem to do the round every month. It’s almost like there’s some sort of indie tag team airtime going on. Rotate the cover of supposed cool magazines like Q and NME, and you’re quite liable to see the same stars again and again. Perhaps it’s to guarantee a sale. Sticking a Romanian black metal band on there may alienate the readership.

Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, The Killers, Kings Of Leon, Snow Patrol, Razorlight, The Enemy, Kasabian, Oasis, Kaiser Chiefs and bloody U2 are predominantly getting airtime on the covers of magazines and on the radio/TV. Now, we don’t detest all of the above, but sometimes it stops other UK bands and foreign rockers from getting a look in. So let’s encourage some new talent, especially stuff from abroad as we tend to forget about that small place known as America.

Flashes of Manic Street Preachers echo straight through to us when listening to Dreaming On, one of three streaming War Tapes tracks. The song has a structure which doesn’t just go riff, words, chorus + riff, words, chorus, end. Everything seems to be carefully constructed and thoroughly worked on again and again. The first cut obviously wasn’t good enough and perfection was truly sought after.

So could they take the world by storm and end up touring around the world from Fuji festival in Japan to the mud-ridden fields of Leeds festival? With some decent exposure then definitely, that’s for sure. The music is accessible and doing well for them, especially when people like Carson Daly use them to soundtrack their shows.

Whilst the songs aren’t gloomy, they also have a hint of Editors about them in the respect that things can start off slightly downbeat but explode into emotional joy. Feelings that differ from person to person. Songs simmer and pop around a mix of keyboards and guitars which complement each other equally. These tracks are a yummy taster for an album that hits shops on May 26th. So listen, enjoy and purchase to support something under the radar.

A sparkly remix of Dreaming On can also be yours for absolutely nothing at all. Give it a whirl, and if you feel the love, share it with your friends or give the song to a tramp and tell him it’s a tasty meal. In a boozed up state, it’s a believable story.

For more:

War Tapes MySpace Page

You! Follow hecklerspray on Twitter!