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

The Drums: Forever and Ever, Amen Video

"Baby, It's Forever..."

The Drums: A Transatlantic Musical Love Affair

They could be an all male sixties pop group. They could be an English band from the seventies. In fact they are The Drums, they are American and this is 2010. Performing classic robotic dancing that would make Ian Curtis proud, featuring vocals reflecting Morrissey’s jumpy, yet gentle tone, and even a Shangri-Las-esque lyrical structure, they are most recent American anglophiles since The Killers. 

Their latest EP entitled ‘Summertime’ is concentrated in influence from ‘the Brits across the pond’ and sixties pop. ‘Lets Go Surfing’, which apparently has nothing to do with surfing at all, presents us with quick paced clattered guitars akin to the style of Johnny Marr. ‘Make You Mine’ is a song rooted in sixties pop with cutesy Beach Boy whistling, perfectly timed hand clapping and a ‘call and response’ pattern between Jonathan Pierce’s sensitive cry of ‘sleeping in the kiii-tchen’ and a echoic female reply resulting in a strange yet endearing hybrid between black gospel and pop.

No doubt, The Drums are a revival band, meshing the likes of The Smiths and The Shangri-La’s in one pleasing melodic stew. It’s fair to say The Drums live through their influences. But with their nostalgic appreciation of music been-and- gone and being a part of scene plagued by Indie fakes, The Drums are marketed as being original and it would be unfair to take this away from them. They are a fun listen reflecting timeless teenage emotion, simultaneously liked by twenty-something rock ‘n’ roll hipsters, producing songs destined for indie dance floors.

The future looks bright for the Brooklyn band. Named as one of the British BBC’s Sounds of 2010, suggests that they will receive greater attention than any other underground band this year. The Drums are here to stay. But despite critical acclaim, It’s fairly likely that their retro sound and niche look will not create quite the hype garnered by The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys or The Strokes. Like other bands who have found critical acclaim, The XX and Animal Collective come to mind, their music is reserved only for people with particular interest in Indie music. But with further listening and a full length debut out in July, it will be interesting to see if the band will cling to their nostalgia or pertain to the 21^st Century Indie scene, creating a sound that can fit in with the guitar driven bands of today.

www.myspace.com/thedrumsforever

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