Rob's Album Of The Week: Tapestries

By Rob Duguay

Once in a while, you listen to an album for the first time and it's so good that it changes the way you think about music. It shows you a door to a different territory of musical brilliance and it takes over your mind, soul and spirit. It's even better when you know that it's coming straight from the streets you walk on everyday. Enter Tapestries and their sophomore self-titled album, the game has changed and Providence's music scene will never be the same. The album shows that Mike DeCosta's take on rock & roll is being brought to atmospheres that are unknown to others. A grand style fusion of Elliott Smith's poetics, Conor Oberst's bleeding heart on a silver platter and a unique aesthetic that only be affiliated with DeCosta himself, Tapestries' new album will invade your ears and stay there like glue on a shoe. 

If you've read this piece of music journalism before, then you know how much I love listening to an album that has been mixed, mastered and recorded using analog equipment. It gives a warmer sound that soothes, making this album so enjoyable to listen to. Using an old-school reel-to-reel TASCAM 388 along with a few parts of the album being recorded at William E. Tolman High School's auditorium in Pawtucket, RI, the quality is impeccable. Is also helps that Mike's brother Matt (Formal Action, Sun Gun, Famous Winters, Roses) handled the producing of the album, every track is perfectly done and takes you to another world. Music fans are always looking for the next big thing, there's a good chance that this album you're reading about will be just that. 

Summer's about to end, you're probably thinking about making one last trip to the beach before Fall starts to set in. As the seasons change, there's always one thing about my Album Of The Week blog that never does. It's that time when I tell you the tracks I think will be necessary to start off with while listening to the particular album I'm writing about. When it comes to Tapestries, it's extremely difficult to decipher which ones deserve recognition. Anyways, here goes something:

"Gardenvision Pt. 2" is an extension from the song "Gardenvision" off of Tapestries' debut album, 1120, that came out during the Fall of 2010. The second half of the song is lyrical gold, listen to every word DeCosta sings and if you can't relate to it then you're not a human being. "Eye Contact" is groovy as hell, I love the riff that is abundant in the whole song with the drums providing a feverish finale. "The Fear" starts off really slow and then it goes into Mike playing a dancey, swing jazz note to give it a lot of energy. "Following The Rules (No Loitering)" features Roz Raskin from The Rice Cakes on alternating vocals, excellent songwriting skills from DeCosta exude through the track to make it very innocent. Don't be lame and take my opinion for what it is without acting on it. Every song off of the new Tapestries is awesome, if you can't tell. 

Rumors are that there will be a big bash at an undisclosed music venue in Providence where Tapestries will be celebrating the release of their brand new self-titled album very soon. Be on the look out for upcoming details and also Tapestries will be playing 990WBOB's Mondays On Blast at The Spot on September 30th too. Until Tapestries comes to your neighborhood, you have to get their new self-titled album. It's going to grace you with a sense of jaw-dropping awe that you'll fall in love with.