album review: "Forcefield"

Artist: Tokyo Police Club
Genre: Indie Rock/Indie Pop
SOT's: "Argentina (Part I)", "Beaches", "Through The Wire", "Feel The Effect"

The Canadian indie rock band Tokyo Police Club, hailing from Newmarket, ON, present us with their newest project Forcefield which was released through the Mom+Pop record label. After their very successful predecessor album Champ (2010), Tokyo Police Club return with a new, heavy pop-driven sound while retaining very few elements of their old technique, though it is still present in this project. In the past, it was TPC's quirky lyricism and high energy that captivated me at first, all summarized in my favourite song "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)". On Forcefield however, we encounter a lot of face value lyrics and themes typical of the pop album formula: love, heartbreak, summer fun, etc., which may not necessarily be a bad thing, just unusual of Tokyo Police Club.

FRESH: Drake ~ Draft Day

Last night, Drake released an unforeseen track, "Draft Day," with perfect timing in anticipation for the upcoming NFL and NBA 2014 drafts. With several name-drops, whether explicit or not, and a sampled Lauryn Hill, this song is sure to garner attention from the hip hop community.

Drake opens up the song with a sample from Lauryn Hill's 1998 hit "Doo Wop," along with recognition to college football and basketball phenoms: Johnny Manziel and Andrew Wiggins, respectively. He continues with his usual braggadocio theme over this lighthearted beat until he delivers a soft hit to Chance, but not without disclaimer: "And if I left this shit to chance, I would've picked a name like Chance the Rapper / No offense cause I don't know that nigga." Shortly after, Drake ostensibly revives tension between he and Jay-Z, with the line, "Just hits, no Mrs. / That's for the married folks." This was likely in response to the statement Jay-Z made directly to Drake on the 'We Made It' remix which also featured Jay Electronica; this back-and-forth between Hov and Drake could possibly extend into further songs, as it hasn't seemed to dissolve thus far.

Don't stop listening to the song just yet, Drake still has a few names up his sleeve. He pays homage to Jose Canseco and his use of 'roids during his MLB career, along with unexpected and unrelated shout-outs to Jennifer Lawrence:

"On some Hunger Games shit I would die for my district / Jennifer Lawrence you can really get it / I mean for real girl, you know I had to do it for ya"

It seems like Drake has got into a rhythm with his tracks, releasing several songs that are either leftovers from NWTS or simply side-tracks that he's been doing for fun. Either way, we should hope to hear some more non-album songs in the future.