MOG

Tokyo Police Club

Elephant Shell

5 out of 10

Like the Blink-182 for today's generation of hipsters, Tokyo Police Club will permeate through your headphones, crawl into your skull, get stuck in your brain, and maybe even land a place in your heart ... or you might catch them playing in Urban Outfitters or on the MtvU channel. Their music is the stuff that makes college radio DJs squirm in their seats, vowing to grab a copy of the group's debut album, Elephant Shell. Tokyo Police Club are the guys you would meet at a small college house party, throwing back a few cold ones and shouting at the top of their lungs, "We're on iTunes now! We're on iTunes now!" They are catchy, listenable, and on the moment's "It List." I mean, they cover most of the bases by referring to Japan in their name. That's cool, right?

I've been hearing a lot about Tokyo Police Club; there was plenty of buzz surrounding both their performance at Coachella in 2007 and their set last year on "Late Night with Dave Letterman." Yet when I first played Elephant Shell in my car, I wouldn't exactly say it was love at first listen. The lead singer sounds like he has a speech impediment. The way he rounds out his syllables and pronounces certain words ... just listen and you'll see what I mean. Once I got past that, I was able to start tapping along on my steering wheel to the tunes. It was like Bright Eyes meets Death Cab for Cutie (not coincidentally, perhaps, Tokyo Police Club are signed to Conor Oberst's Saddle Creek Records). My friends all dug the album when I played it, so they seem to be doing something right. Usually, I have some obscure Radiohead B-sides playing and nobody bothers asking what's on. At least five of my friends raised their eyebrows and asked who this was when they sat in my car and heard the Tokyo Police Club album. It was, er, pleasant.

Formed in 2005 in a Toronto basement, Tokyo Police Club, with their cute, lyrically-fueled garage rock, have rocketed to the top of the list of up-and-coming indie darlings. The boys were in the right place at the right time as their music is nothing extraordinary. After a few breaks playing Lollapalooza and Reading, Greg Alsop (drums), Josh Hook (guitar), David Monks (vocals, bass), and Graham Wright (keyboards, vocals) released their Lesson in Crime EP on Canada's Paper Bag records. Apparently people like my friends ate it up, and soon after (April of this year) Elephant Shell was released on Saddle Creek. It's basically a story of guys jamming in the basement, deciding "hey, this is kinda cool," getting discovered and nabbing a record deal, and presently making it onto your iPod playlists. It's every 17-year-old musician dude's dream.

As generic as the songs sound on Elephant Shell, Tokyo Police Club make the most of taking a good idea and running with it. All the numbers and figures on the opening song "Centennial" add up to you liking it. The first things I noticed were the drums and the lyrics. The drums are a tad too loud in the mix, making them (unintentionally?) the focal point and taking away from the rest of the song. The cute lick is there, with the different effects adding layers and depth to the guitars. If lyrics are your thing, then these are your boys. Their songs are filled with sharp, insightful lyrics, such as: "Cause I've got one more up my sleeve/Bring it out tonight/Cause if I am the joke/Then you're the punch-line…" They sting of Bright Eyes and hint to high SAT verbal scores. I do appreciate the energy I felt from songs like "Graves" that make them prime candidates for my morning commute. The tempo changes with "Juno," which adds some complexity to the album by turning down the fast, driving guitars and turning up the quivering, vulnerable vocals ... not to mention I'm a sucker for glockenspiels. You may recognize their single "Tessellate" which has been in heavy rotation on MTV. Hand-clapping and catchy keyboards act as props that support the narrative lyrics.

"The Harrowing Adventures of…" does a great job of communicating the whimsy in its lyrics by sounding as though they are playing in a music box with an orchestra. One of my favorite sounds on the album was the unexpected shouting in "Your English is Good" demanding listeners to "Give us your vote! Give us your vote!" The song's fast guitars and heavy drums provide a sharp contrast to the leisurely pace of the vocals that at times drawl on. Now if only I could tell the songs apart…

For a rising band that seems as though they just woke up and decided to make an album, Tokyo Police Club are pretty good. In the grand scheme of things, however, I don't think I'd give them a second thought. Listening to this album, it seems, again and again, that they're going to take it to the next level, but in failing to rise to the occasion, they remain in the shadows of their peers. I guess I'd recommend Tokyo Police Club to someone who is into Bright Eyes and Death Cab and looking for a new band to check out. If that's not you, then I would just recommend you skip Tokyo.