polaroids of androids

May 7, 2008

Tokyo Police Club
Elephant Shell

5.9

When Tokyo Police Club came along with their EP A Lesson in Crime not so long ago it was certainly well timed. And not in the sense of landing in the right location on a calendar. I mean it was fucking short. And fast. And bursting with energy. And this was the sole reason it was so much fun.

Fast forward to now and the band has released Elephant Shell, and in the short time that has passed since their EP, they've aged 8 years and have taken the ridiculously exuberant, furiously energetic, been-shooting-red-cordial-into-their-veins-for-the-past-17-hours edge off their sound and in the process lost what made them so attractive in the first place. It's hard to fathom how it is possible for an album that only has one track longer than 3 minutes to feel like it's dragging on to long, but regardless of this, Elephant Shell is one of these specimens.

There is a few moments that are enjoyable, agreeable, non-confrontational. In A Cave trudges along nicely, Nursery Academy brings some good elements to the table, and Your English Is Good, if a bit cheesy at times is still a well constructed little number with a solid groove.

But it's not the technical quality of the songs that is important here. It's the fact that it's a lot more fun to listen to virile young men thrashing about and looking cool than it is to listen to them being cool and trying to be serious musicians. Plenty of bands succeed that haven't ever written a truly amazing song. It's the energy that they bring to it that gives the songs a life of their own and capture the attention of listeners. It's what the EP did, and it's what this album doesn't do. And knowing of the capabilities of this young outfit is what makes it all the more disappointing.

Words by Mike