Tokyo Police Club
Elephant Shell

[Saddle Creek; 2008]

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Styles: bass-heavy pop-rock
Others: ugh
Links: Tokyo Police Club - Saddle Creek

Tokyo Police Club are one of the luckiest bands I know. At Sasquatch 2007, it was suicidal to stand in front of the main-stage winds, so everyone migrated to the third stage where, serendipity, Tokyo Police Club were just starting their set. They seemed to realize they had the chance to galvanize a HUGE group of people and made the most of it, bopping along with their pop energy and really driving home the instrumental breaks (which always seemed to feature the keyboard player, a secret weapon that wasn’t so secret after the Sasquatch show).

Now that I hear Elephant Shell, TPC’s appeal is a lot more mysterious to me. I’ve had concert moments come back to bite me in the booty before, but jesus christ, am I this easily manipulated by the Moment? Apparently. Nasal vocals, listless lyrics about girlz ‘n’ stuff (I’m assuming; I have no idea what this dude is talking about), post-punk-lite backing — Elephant Shell has it all if you’re looking for youthful mistakes from a well-meaning (but again, young) band that really, really, REALLY shouldn’t let the hype go to their heads.

Years of practice could easily fix the rusty-nail snags that loom around every corner of Tokyo Police Club’s proper debut, but with so many telling them how great they are, a hard-fought fame after years of hard work just isn’t in the cards for this band. Maybe they can mature before our eyes and eventually put it all together, but with so many acts cycling through the atmosphere, it’s common for groups like TPC to become blips sooner than later.

All the best boys; now back to the jam room!

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