Words by Hannah Lanfear
Tokyo Police Club have done their fair share of growing up in the spotlight. Snapped up before even out of school, they achieved that rare feat of being able to scratch a living from the most tenuous of trades early on in life, giving the finger of fuckoffski to education and chalking up a mark to the school of rock n’ roll.
One album and two EPs passed since the day they signed themselves out of physics and onto Paper Bag Records and now the handsome young chaps from Ontario have returned to give us second helpings just two years since the release of their debut. Released on Toronto’s Mom and Pop Records Champ is a return to form indeed.
To spread the word far and wide they’ve tied up alongside the good ship Passion Pit for a gruelling tour of North America and Europe. Going to see this spectacle of music would make for a very merry party, there’s no doubt.
On first listen Champ could be mistaken for just another MOR indie record but as is often the way you give it a few more listens and your ears acclimatise to the hooks, soon revealing some summer indie-pop gems that’ll have you getting a stomp on and squeaking along with your eyes to the sunny skies. This is an exuberant summer record, mos def.
Dave Monks sings with a languor that’s a dead ringer for John Wozniak of Marcy Playground but with enough zip to exclude TPC from being tagged mere stoner rock. These days you’re lucky if you can make out the lyrics to a tune, these young people mumble so, yet TPC’s lyrics are pleasingly audible for even the very worst of pedants and the words are vivid with imagery: that of monsters under beds; of rubik’s cubes and tin cans; imprisoned kings, dancers and Christmas cards.
Managing to keep their influences in check, Champ shows glimmers of a hundred other indie bands, yet they’ve clasped their identity tight to their chests and retained a sound of their own. Compared side by side with debut LP Elephants, this release sounds like a band happy in their skin, like those couple o’ birthdays did them a world of good.
Opening the album is a swift one-two of twinned tunes – the rousing, synth embellished “Favourite Food,” followed by the squeaky-bright guitars of “Favourite Colour”: a certain smasher of a tune that has all the hallmarks of an indie pop classic. Elsewhere stand out tracks include the first single from the album, “Breakneck Speed”; the album centrefold “Bambi” which comes leaping into focus from a messy intro of shuddering synths; and the buoyant riff-led “Not Sick.”
The album closes with one of its strongest tracks, “Frankenstein,” a poignant dedication to a homecoming: “It’s good to be back,” sings Monks gladly, a reprised lyric from earlier track “Breakneck Speed.” Yeah and it’s nice to have you back an’ all. Tokyo Police Club get the thumbs up round here (Mom and Pop, 2010).
See live video from their secret NYC gig last week here.
