Emotional Doom Pop: The most immediately striking thing about War Tapes is the fact that they are fronted by an emotionally driven crooner in the form of Neil Popkin, a singer who finds a way to capture the charisma and enigmatic pragmatism of male diva’s like Morrissey and Richard Butler. The post-punk walls of guitar that surround the depressive tales are created by Popkin and his compeer Matt Bennett, as new wave meets shoegaze on top of controlled chaos and despair. The Continental Divide is an album that sounds familiar yet it’s not. The tracks have a creeping effect, being enveloped in melody and darkness while building to soaring crescendos that are placated by intricate strings and thick bass atmospheres. War Tapes is rounded out by angelic waves of shattered soul harmony brought on by Popkin’s sister Becca, who also provides a solid bass backbone rhythm section for her male counterparts. Four of the tracks on The Continental Divide were previously found on their self-titled EP that was released last year, but have now been remixed to sound clearer and more dynamic to match the overall feel of this debut full-length. At times epic, often times deeply romantic and entirely captivating, War Tapes has released an endearing piece of melancholy and bravado. 9/10 ~Joseph Graham