Girl at the Rock Shows

The Twin Cities is a funny place. I know it’s a big city, but it has such a small-town feel to it, which is one of the many reasons why I love calling Minneapolis home. I live on the outskirts of downtown in a somewhat sleepy suburb (but one of the first ring kinds, so don’t start thinking I’m some bougie Edina girl or anything like that) with very few options when it comes to late-night shenanigans. I have become a regular at a cowboy-themed bar, which, I know, is not my normal thing, but it has become a home away from homes and a cozy place with super friendly and familiar faces to close out nights where I’m not quite ready to go home right after a show. Through my time at this bar, I’ve met a lot of amazing people. One of those people quickly caught on to who I was and what I do and started bombarding me with questions about a local band- TABAH. I had to be honest with him, I knew of TABAH and, quite frankly, was never super impressed with the group. Sure, they were great, but there was just nothing about the few times I saw them perform that really hooked me. He wouldn’t stop. He insisted that I check out their new EP. I’ve been putting it off because it’s so hard for me to put my pre-conceived notions about this band to the side, but I’m feeling spicy and ready for a band to change my mind for some reason, so let’s dig into TABAH’s new EP, ‘inner net’ and see if they can do just that- change my mind.

Just like every website on the ‘inner net,’ this EP kicks off with “www.” This song has a cool intro of ambient noise mixed with the sound of a reporter saying some seemingly random things. The sound of TABAH glitters through those sonic airwaves so perfectly before slamming right into your head and heart about a minute and a half in. Even when you get your first taste of TABAH’s insane amount of power, the sound feels a bit scattered, continuing to almost glitter in the air as static continues in the background. I love this as it truly feels like TABAH is trying to ease you into their world while also making sure that you ignore anything else happening in your room, your head, your life. Although this song was a bit slower moving than I would have liked for an opening track, I thoroughly enjoyed the artistry that came through loud and clear throughout this lengthy five-minute and twenty-second song.

Towards the end of “www,” you get a super infectious and danceable beat, which leads into “xlt” so perfectly. This song definitely got my blood pumping in all of the right ways. The driving beat gave the song energy, and the many layers that create this track gave it something in which I could get super lost. Honestly, if the beat was any faster or the vocals were any more commanding, this track would easily be classified as “chaotic,” but TABAH keeps it from going that far and retains control of everything happening in this quick song perfectly. Some songs have hooky choruses. Some have ear-wormy lines of songs. That’s how songs get stuck in our heads. This song has neither, yet I felt consumed by “xlt” like it had secrets behind it, and I had to listen to this track at least three dozen more times before I could move on. Okay, three dozen is a bit of a lie, but even after listening to this track a couple of times before moving on with this journey, I feel like “xlt” has so much more to offer, and I can’t wait to continue to dig into this astounding track.

“sleepn” is the third track on this song, and I love how different it is from the chaos I felt in “xlt.” This song is very chill and almost mesmerizing in a perfectly therapeutic way. Although I’ve loved the lyrics in all of the tracks thus far, it wasn’t until this song that I really paid attention to what was being said. Honestly, it’s an almost dark and retrospective song that, if you let it, will get you all lost in your feels but the intricacies that TABAH has scattered throughout this track keep you from getting too deep. Everything that this band has put into this track is by design, and I loved the game that was trying to figure out what that design was.

“dvdwn” is an infectiously dancy number. I’ll be honest: I have dinner on the stove right now, so I’m wandering a bit as I write this while juggling keeping an eye on the stove, and I loved how this song blaring throughout my house made my wandering turn into dancing. Just when I thought I had this track figured out as just one of those super fun and upbeat dance numbers, TABAH hit me with a stellar echoey guitar solo that truly added that special razzle dazzle for me to stop everything. Okay, I may have written this band off in a way (although I feel like that’s harsh to say) but listening to “dvdwn”, I couldn’t help but hate myself a little bit for not staying on the TABAH train and getting to experience this song much sooner than I did.

At only fifty-five seconds long, “esc” is definitely more of an interlude than a track but it’s place on this EP makes it one of those tracks that you can’t skip. It adds an ambiance, gives your mind and body a bit of a break at the perfect time, and prepares to catapult you into the final song of this EP and, eventually, back into the real world. Obviously, this is not the track to listen to if you’re trying to figure out this band, but I really think this moment of pure bliss is a gorgeous showing of the power that TABAH has when it comes to perfectly composed artistry.

‘inner net’ closes with “d!y”. Much like the way this album started, this final song starts with a slight pause of ambiance before TABAH’s signature dark and danceable beat takes over. Even though I do feel that the beat in this track is heavy, I also feel like the slow and deliberate nature of the beat takes this song to a space that I didn’t quite see it going. What space is that? Well, you’ll have to check this out for yourself and figure it out.

Honestly, I had it in my mind that this album wasn’t going to be quite for me, but as I had hoped, TABAH changed my mind about them with this album. Maybe it’s just been that long since I last saw them perform, and they have changed that much more. Maybe I’m just feeling a bit more open to new things. Either way, listening to ‘inner net’ from this marvelous local Twin Cities band was nineteen minutes of pure bliss. An endless thrill on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, moods, and sounds, ‘inner net’ is truly a work of art. I owe my buddy a huge apology for dragging my feet on this review and owe credit where credit is due. This is truly one of those albums that makes me so happy and honored to call the Twin Cities music scene home.

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