Review

With the barrage of electro-rock bands currently casting their neon dazzle in our eyes, you could be forgiven for wondering what need for Two Door Cinema Club. On paper there seems very little to mark the Bangor trio out as distinct from their peers. On record, though, the difference becomes glaringly apparent. Namely, they have the tunes. What’s more, the songs on Tourist History are not built upon the shifting sands of fashion. Whilst so many construct glittering palaces that exude stylishness, but are architecturally unsound, TDCC work from solid foundations, exhibiting an understanding of structure and the pop chops that have already proven to the taste of Kanye and the Pet Shop Boys.

The unkind might suggest that their craft is a little too studied and, certainly, there are times when they walk hand-in-hand with their influences, most notably, Bloc Party. But, there is enough on show to suggest that they’ll soon settle into their own stride.

The jittering keys, sharp, needling riffs of Sam Halliday, lithe bass of Kev Baird and gentle pleadings of Alex Trimble, together they create  some kind of voodoo, the many ripe choruses pinning the listener in the heart and in the head, leaving them bewitched. It’s a spell that’s not soon broken, for whilst these songs have immediacy they also have longevity. The durability of the songs is proven by the fact that several of them – ‘Cigarettes In The Theatre’, ‘Undercover Martyn’, ‘Something Good Can Work’ – have been in the band’s armoury for some time, however, these old familiars have been given a little cosmetic touch up by Elliot James (Noah & The Whale, Bloc Party) and Philippe Zdar (Cassius).

Those who’ve witnessed the frenetic nature of the band’s live show might lament the fact that their more unkempt side has here been finessed to a rather glossy finish. Still, we’re not talking diabetic-worrying sweet and, in any case, a measure of sugar is required to sweeten the lyrical pill. Given the band’s tender years, it would be understandable to mistake their musical exuberance with a slightness of emotion, or youthful naivety. In fact, the real naïveté would be to dismiss songs such as ‘Come Back Home’ and ‘This Is The Life’ as mere growing pains. For these are pains you don’t grow out of.

With its connotations of travel, Tourist History is an album aptly named. The metaphor of the journey – so beloved of reality show contestants – is fitting in the context of an album that is ever on the move, pushing ever forwards, the loveliness ladled out in brisk two and a half, or three minute doses. All the while they’re searching, for the right girl, or the wrong one, for meaning, understanding and a sense of self. Who knows where their particular journey’s end might be, but with Tourist History TDCC have most definitely arrived. Francis Jones

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KEY TRACKS: ‘THIS IS THE LIFE’, ‘SOMETHING GOOD CAN WORK’, ‘UNDERCOVER MARTYN’.
FOR FANS OF: BLOC PARTY, THE RAPTURE, FOALS.

Posted on: 27th January 2010

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