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.
The first song to welcome us to Forcefield is eight minute-long ballad of "Argentina", comprised of three separate parts. Part I, I find, is the closest to a Elephant Shell or Champ type of sound that you'll get on this record. The lyrics are eloquent, there's the frequent bursts high energy, and their distinct fusion of Graham Wright's keyboard skills with the hard hitting indie rock guitar riffs and soft vocalizations. Part I finishes off with an exciting keyboard and guitar solo, only to mellow out in terms of tempo and intensity as we move on to Parts II and III, which makes me wonder why they grouped these three songs together in the first place. Perhaps there is some implicit overlying story arch of romance.
The band's first single released before the album drop was "Hot Tonight", which worried me at first. The sound was very pop-rock; as mentioned before, it seemed to follow the pop song formula for a radio hit. A catchy chorus, lyrics reflecting summer adventure, and a couple of 'oooh's to really make it resonate. What worried me wasn't necessarily the sound, the song is indeed very catchy and the guitar riffs are fun. My problems with "Hot Tonight" are that the gap between each chorus is too plain, too boring. Dave Monks has a pretty good voice, however he is shown mumbling the lyrics in a low tone. The song's main highlight is just the chorus, unfortunately. This same problem trickled down to other songs on this album: "Miserable" is only memorable because of its quick electric guitar bursts at the chorus and its extended repetition of the song name, and on "Toy Guns" it's the breakdown of tempo and a couple of piano notes.
This pattern isn't dominant in the album though. "Beaches" is one of the few songs where Monks really reminds us how skillful his voice is at conveying emotional content, making this song sound really bleak and depressing. The lyrics are reminiscent of themes like isolation, confusion, and patience, kind of like that eternal waiting period you experience when waiting for someone to call/text. The synths layered underneath the soft guitar riffs really give off a reminiscing or nostalgic vibe, as if the song is a reflection on a past memory. "Through The Wire", not to be mistaken for the Kanye track, is a stripped-down, semi-acoustic track also showcasing Monks' vocal ability at its core, and is one of the few songs that has a natural sense of 'flow'. A good example of a song with a very odd sense of flow is "Gonna Be Ready", which alternates from punk-rock phases of high intensity guitar shredding and crash cymbals, to segments that have the tempo of a snail's pace similar to soft indie artists like Ed Sheeran or Radiohead or something. That song really does not vibe with me.
It's quite silly to note that my favourite songs on Forcefield are at the very beginning and at the very end. "Feel The Effect" features the old, super odd and quirky TPC lyricism that I enjoy very much. Take the following song excerpt, for example:
"I got a friend with a mohawk/ He's giving terrible advice to me/ He's full of quick quips, has my future on his lips/ At least he's working on it for me"
"I got a friend with a limo/ He says he'll take me where I wanna go/ I'm rolling with it, but I'm calling his shit/ Thinks he's a hero for it"
Highly vague, open to interpretation (unless I'm missing something here), and just outright fun to sing out loud. These lyrics come in right after a song breakdown at the 1:52 mark, featuring a super distorted guitar solo. A good contrast to the album opener in the sense that the energy is present, but its waiting for the right to pop up over the overlying soothing feel to the song. The distortion and mellow beat are a neat juxtaposition that ended up sounding really creative and hypnotic, slowly leading the listener out of the album while also reminding them of how much intensity they can conjure up in the snap of finger.
What disappoints me about this record is the amount of songs I didn't like. On Elephant Shell and Champ, I don't think I can recall a single song where I wanted to stop listening halfway through. Sure, there may have been songs that I never deliberately pick to listen to, but if they happen to be playing I wouldn't mind. Elephant Shell actually got a lot of front-to-back listen throughs on my iPod. Sadly, Forcefield is more of a mine field, in the sense that not only songs, but only certain song segments seem to be enjoyable. There is a noticeable pop-influence present on this album, and I'm still hesitant on whether I like it or not. Tokyo Police Club is one of my favourite bands, however for the sake of this music review, I must be unbiased, and perhaps ruthless. This is definitely my least favourite release by the band, however it does merit itself some listening in the future.
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