Tourist history --- Two Door Cinema Club --- 2010 (Kitsune)
And from bands who never made it and faded into the mists of Irish music history, to one who most certainly are. Making it, that is. This, their debut album, scooped the first prize at the Meteor Choice Awards (our version of the Brits: very posh) and their star is certainly in the ascendancy at the moment, with their long-awaited second album due out soon. Maybe. Hopefully.
Alex Trimble (lead vocals, rhythm guitar and synth), Sam Halliday (lead guitar) and Kevin Baird (bass) met while at school, and soon realised their talents and their future lay in music, concentrating on their newly formed band. Considering the band has only properly been in existence since 2007, and that their first recording, an EP, only came out in 2009, Two Door Cinema Club's rise to fame and glory has really been nothing short of meteoric, sorry about the pun.
The album opens with “Cigarettes in the theatre”, a sort of echoey, atmospheric start before jangly guitars and heavy drums cut in and the song takes off as a real airplay-friendly rocker, definite flavour of very early U2, especially in the guitar, with splashes of everything from Big Country to the Housemartins and some Deacon Blue as well. Poppy but also with a real edge of rock, and Alex's voice is clear and distinct, one of those rare voices that rises effortlessly above the music without having to shout or scream: kind of reminds me of John McManus from Mama's Boys. There's a great feeling of optimism about the opener, very upbeat and happy, a real toe-tapper. The mad trumpet bit at the end is really weird though, and, I feel, out of place: kind of knocks the whole thing askew, and it's the last thing you hear, but I think the track itself is good enough for that little bump not to ruin it.
“Come back home” is a harder, rockier track with not so much of the pop music about it, touches of the Killers maybe, early Simple Minds? Sam Halliday has certainly decided to try to make his own signature guitar sound, and so far it seems like he's succeeding. It does owe a lot to the Edge's style of course, but has its own individuality and charm, enough so that it doesn't seem like he's trying to rip off or ape the U2 guitarist.
Everything here is around the three-minute or less mark, one or two going towards the three-and-a-half minute but nothing longer, which is good, as this seems to fit the musical style of TDCC; can't see them engaging in any epic tracks really. “Do you want it all” slips back into the pop style, very catchy, very radio-friendly material, with nice effects from Alex on the synth, and a really infectious hook. There's a pretty mad guitar passage in about the last minute or so as the song really speeds up, and I have to say I really like this: makes a great impression first time, which is always good, with a nice and unexpected acapella ending. It's followed by “This is the life”, which sort of carries the musical theme through, another mid-paced popper, with lush keyboards and some nice sharp guitar. Here they really remind me of those happy pop icons the Lightning Seeds, and they definitely seem to be enjoying themselves on this song, and why not?
There's a much more funk drive to “Something good can work”, and indeed it does, with sparkly keyboards and catchy hooks, very pop with hardly a breath of rock about it at all, but still very nice to listen to, then things speed (and indeed, rock) back up for “I can talk”, with an interesting phrasing in the vocal, almost spoken in ways, and some pretty damn good guitar from Sam. There's no slowing down for “Undercover Martyn”, driven along on a great keyboard line and some fine drumming from Johnny Welton, some powerful guitar from Sam backed by bippy keyboard noises from Alex, and Sam's guitar drives “What you know”, with some excellent bass from Kevin Baird, laying down one heck of a groove. Alex's vocals should in no way be overlooked, either, as they are the glue that holds this fine band together, never too high or low in the mix, and always meshing with the music, not detracting from it or relegating it to second place.
The whimsical “Eat that up, it's good for you” bops along nicely on keyboard and bass, with some nice touches on the guitar, and the album ends on “You are not stubborn”, a rocker somewhat in the style of Tom Petty, not as hard but very upbeat and tight. My only quibble is that there are no slow songs on this album: I would have liked to have seen how Two Door Cinema Club handled a decent ballad. Everything here is fast or at least mid-speed, boppy and uptempo. Would have been nice to see what happens when they take their foot off the pedal. Ah well, they're young after all. Maybe next album.
You'd have to hold your head up high really though as an Irishman, to realise we have home-grown talent of this calibre to export our music to the world at large. This is one of the reasons I intend to push Irish music more this year, and especially this week, when everyone wants to be Irish, because often I feel Irish music --- be it pop, rock, electronic, soul, punk or native noseflute music (!) --- tends to be largely ignored by the music press outside Ireland. To the rest of the world, we're the home of U2, Rory Gallagher, Phil Lynott and (no please don't say it!) Jedward and Westlife, but there's so much more to hear and enjoy about good Irish music.
If nowhere else, you'll be sure to hear it in this journal. A lot.
TRACKLISTING
1. Cigarettes in the theatre
2. Come back home
3. Do you want it all?
4. This is the life
5. Something good can work
6. I can talk
7. What you know
8. Undercover Martyn
9. Eat that up, it's good for you
10. You are not stubborn