The Drums - The Drums

I never believe hype. To believe hype is to strip music of subjectivity and submit to media whirl wind. These four men from Brooklyn have had a fair share of it and with their growing fan base of fashion conscious indie kids on the back of the promising Summertime EP, the eyes of music journalists and fans alike were peeled. But did they create those teenage anthems that Summertime promised? Are the songs on the album reminiscent of the cute jangled guitars that were ever-present on the EP? Is the hype justified? The answer is yes, but not overwhelmingly so.

The album’s opener ‘Best Friend’ is a remarkable start and perhaps one of the best indie pop songs released this year. Jonathan Pierce does an A star performance of the whiney teenage voice we’re so used to hearing in 1980s American dramas. But his voice is weaved into the music creating a retro feel that meanders throughout the album. The simplicity of the instruments adds to the endearing character of the song.

And that is the word to describe this debut: simplicity. It’s not the difficult listen that so often mars the efforts of bands that are under pressure to impress. They stick to what they know, and what they know is the eighties. The decade of overstated drum machines as shown in ‘Me and the Moon’; the decade of the Molly Ringwald in a poofy prom dresses and the slow dance; Down by the Water should have been in ‘Pretty in Pink’. As I stated in a previous post, the Drums are an unashamed revival band. Don’t let anyone tell you that there is anything remotely modern on this album. So often, this is a criticism, but this adds to the charm. At a gig you’ll see Ian Curtis, when you key in close to the vocals, you’’ll here Moz, when you listen to the musical patterns you’ll here the Shangri-Las. Despite not creating anything fresh, they bring joy to anyone who has wondered what a mash-up of all these artists would sound like.

What is commendable to the band alone, is their ability to juxtapose their hyperactive music against SOME OF THE MOST DEPRESSING LYRICS YOU’LL EVER HEAR. For a band that appears all for show, the introspective lyrics often get lost in the joyous pop. Without lyrics at hand you miss ‘it’s another night with me and the moon/ it’s another night with that look in your eyes’ or ‘I don’t believe you when you lie/ because your eyes are always saying goodbye’. It’s hard to dislike the calls of ‘ooo ee oo’ and bouncy nature of ‘Skippin Town’, but it’s easy to sympathise with the victim in the song “I know you’re trying to kill me / Cuz you’re chasing me around town” The lyrics are generally as good what some of the great lyricists would write. The ability to key into teenage emotion yet maintain sincerity is something that is theirs.

But amongst the praise that this debut deserves, a factor that will always play against a band with explicit attachments to their influences is whether their releases will tell the test of time. It’s hard to listen to the album and not think ‘The Smiths could have done this better’, particularly as they would have been in competition with them if we were in the 80s. 

There’s a problem with longevity. How do they expand on a release that is as time oriented as this, without coming out with something completely different and losing the support of the media, those who influence the consumer? MGMT’s Congratulations is an example of this.

And there’s that problem with hype. The hype that will follow you and judge you as long as your band survives. But these are questions for the future.

This album is a commendable listen. It may not have that instant kick for some, but as you take a few more listens you come to appreciate the simplistically engaging nature of it. Take a peak at the lyrics and you’ll value the innocence and introspection. But don’t forget, they came in a time machine from the 80’s and they aren’t willing to change to fit the quo.

7.5 / 10 

Listen to: Best Friend, Skippin Town, Forever and Ever Amen, I Need Fun in My Life, The Future