Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell

by Jon Fletcher

Canadians leave us wanting more of the same

"The shortness of each track feels like glorious efficiency – no more and no less than is needed."

In his recent New Noise review of The Envy Corps’ debut album ‘Dwell’, Tom Mendelsohn, in a rare moment of praise, suggested the band’s slightly “samey” sound could be overcome by the sheer quality of the tunes. The same is true for Tokyo Police Club’s second album (or more accurately, their first full album – debut ‘A Lesson In Crime’ lasted only 16 minutes), though after a few listens a subtle topography begins to emerge that confounds even that criticism.

TPC’s dotage on The Strokes has been well documented and continues unabated on ‘Elephant Shell’, but many of the band’s rough edges have been softened during their 18 month absence. In their place comes a more melodic bent that makes better use of David Monks’ nasally voice, which bubbles with a strange melancholy excitement, a bit like skipping and crying at the same time.

The songs haven’t got any longer though – only one, the jubilant single ‘Your English Is Good’ – tops three minutes and the whole 11 tracks clock in at just under half an hour. The early close out jars a little for the first few plays and it’s not until the personality of each song has shown through that the album feels like the real deal. By then, the shortness of each feels like glorious efficiency – no more and no less than is needed.

‘Tessalate’ – also released as a single – is another highlight, bringing to mind The Stills at their most exuberant, thoughtful lyrics punctuated by a guitar riff that sounds like the peel of church bells and crashing, cymbal-heavy drums. At the softer end of the scale is ‘Listen To The Math’, which swells from disjointed beginnings with the addition of an urgent picked refrain followed by squalling distortion. The lyrics draw you in too, ambiguously hinting at the joys of parenthood one minute, or the fear of a sick child the next: “Re-Kindle your heart / These hospital machines are state of the art”.

If you can spare the time to get up close and personal (and let’s face it, that’s a lot less time than with most albums), ‘Elephant Shell’ proves itself truly sensational.

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