Using the word “fun” to describe a band’s sound isn’t very sophisticated, but that’s what comes to mind whenever I hear the name Tokyo Police Club. Elephant Shell, TPC’s debut full-length that was released back in 2008, was difficult not to enjoy because you got the feeling, when listening, that the barely 21-year old bandmembers had a whale of a time making that record. Then there was that hilarious appearance on Desperate Housewives and a slew of ridiculously creative videos, all further solidifying the band’s reputation as a pack of lively young men armed with spirited jams and having the time of their lives.
Group antics still include things like challenging fans to baking contests and reading Woody Allen books on camera, and Champ, TPC’s second full-length, suggests the Newmarket, Ontario boys—singer/bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook and drummer Greg Alsop—are still thoroughly enjoying their career. One need only look to the hyperactive start-and-stop riffs of “Favourite Color” and the almost danceworthy and thoroughly remixed single “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)” for proof. “End of a Spark” is a bouncy, bass-driven tune that will make any beginning-of-the-week commute to work a little less painful, and, from the almost giddy nature of Monks’ singing here, you could theorize the guy finds enjoyment out of even a failed relationship.
But maybe not. Laced between those carefree stretches are moments distinctly more melancholy. Whereas Elephant Shell and the band’s 2006 EP, A Lesson in Crime, both opened with crashing symbols and pep rally-worthy shouts, Champ‘s first track, “Favourite Food,” starts with just a few minor keyboard chords and a lone acoustic guitar before Monks begins to sing: “With a heart attack on your plate/you were looking back on your days/how you spent them all in a blur/when they asked if you were for sure.” He’s shed some of his goofy, schoolboy aura of the past and when he sings, “you know it’s sweet getting old,” it’s not hard to believe he means every word.
He’s tackling a more ambitious vocal range too; “Breakneck Speed” finds him unafraid to wail and drone with equal measure, even if he doesn’t always hit the notes dead-on. Likewise on “Hands Reversed,” Champ’s mellowest track and a restrained number that’s more of an implosion than an explosion. “I’m gonna tell you what to do about yourself/because the breakfast of the champions is a hedonistic hell,” he sings, thusly making you wonder just what the last two years of his life have held. Overall, the sound on the record is airtight, whether the guys are noodling away on guitars (“Frankenstein”), crashing on what sounds like 10 hi-hats (“Big Difference”) or singing about stumbling home drunk in the middle of the night over sweeping synths (“Bambi”).
My one grief with Champ is its length—none of the songs wander too far past the three-minute mark. While this isn’t an anomaly for the band (A Lesson in Crime clocked in at a whopping 16 minutes; Elephant Shell is less than half-an-hour long), it would be nice to see them apply their newfound musical maturity to this area as well. I don’t imagine sinister experimental epics are around the corner anytime soon, but here’s hoping. Maybe when they turn 30.
Listen – “Breakneck Speed”
