Current Mood:
Chillin
Back Catalog Album Review:
Tokyo Police Club : Elephant Shell
I had never heard of Tokyo Police Club. To be honest, I had never even hear their music. What kept happening to me, however, were various music recommendation sites that kept kicking this disk up based on knowing about some of the other things I like. I will tell you; I’m not disappointed that I bought this disk.
What it reminds me of is a more melodic and less tripped out Neutral Milk Hotel combined with some of the British rock sensibilities floating around as of late. The disk starts out with “Centennial”, which is an up-beat track with meandering lyrics that fit well on top of a very dance-able track.
Next up is more bouncy, meandering pop in “In A Cave”, but with an addictive melodic line, even if there really isn’t any hook to be found. As soon as I learn the lyrics, I’ll be singing along. This track reminds of upbeat Death Cab For Cutie.
The third track, “Graves” mixes the current sounds of the rock scene together. This song reminds of me a lot of Neutral Milk Hotel, but with a definite bent toward Modest Mouse with those freaking synths thrown in that finally sound like they are in the right place.
All the songs on the album are wonderfully sweet (and sadly, short). The more I listen to this album, the more excited I am about the future of music. Tokyo Police Club are the latest in a long line of bands carrying the obtuse pop-rock torch (what used to be called “alternative” or “modern rock”). This album jerks, sways, and generally grooves through and through.
Production values are as good as can be expected these days. There are no sequences so distorted that they are distracting (unlike some other really excellent disks I own… you hear that Amy Winehouse?!?!).
The only song I’ve found so far that I feel is a little weak is “Sixties Remake”, which seems to just be a mashup of their other tunes, except without that hooky melodic line that seems to be their trademark. Everything else will end up on my MP3 player.
“Your English Is Good” is probably -the- standout track on the album. The arrangement is excellent, the lyrics are well written and it perfectly exemplifies what I believe the band is trying to communicate musically. I also dig upbeat tracks with lots of emotion.
The package came with a remix disk that I haven’t spent any time with. A quick review shows that it is standard fare, interesting but no where near the meat and potatoes of the album.
The disk can be purchased here at Amazon (no… I don’t get anything for you buying from this link).
The band’s website is here.
