TOKYO POLICE CLUB
LESSON IN CRIME / SMITH (FIRE COLORED RED/ORANGE) - LP

UPC: 880893002042
Label: PAPER BAG
Format: LP
Release Date: March 22, 2024
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Discordant noise and sublime melodies – who can resist? The Tokyo Police Club demo wound up in the hands of Paper Bag Records after a sweaty Pop Montreal show. We played it once, twice, three times and beyond that we lost count – then we did that every day and eventually just made time in our schedules to kick back and enjoy “The Nature of the Experiment”, the bands clear party tune, on a daily basis for the rest of our lives.

At the start of high school David Monks (Vocals, Bass), Josh Hook (Guitar), Graham Wright (Keyboards) and Greg Alsop (Drums) started learning to play together from scratch…

Their first band fizzled (whose doesn’t?) – The new order came about when the boys realized how much they missed playing music. “Cheer It On” had already been written, and ‘Tokyo Police Club’ featured as a lyric, according to Monks: “it’s justified as the band name in its own ridiculousness.”

Picking apart the average chord and creating something quite amazing – the guitars are disjointed, high yet perfectly pitched, erratic, verging on sci-fi, even. They’re cushioned with bumbling, pillow fight bass lines, crashing open hi-hat, and good humored keyboards. This is the sound of Tokyo Police Club.

The band has the usual list of idols, musicians that play with their hearts on their sleeves. But secretly, they divulge, with a smile that’s ironic measurements are hard to gage, “We think Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones are the real deal.”

Monks describes the band as, “wide-eyed post-punk with a tendency to get over excited – so much so that someone has to come and tell it to settle down.” Hook’s blistering guitar would be enough to induce goose bumps alone, the effect of the band as a whole should come with some sort of warning.

Raucous and delicious – with a lyrical sound resonating in Thurston Moore and the same musical concoction bands like Sonic Youth, Built to Spill and Pavement reeled in many moons ago. The boys are adorable, with an interesting new sound to offer. They’ve taken all the good bits from indie rock in the past decade and then put their individual spin on things.

The tracks were already written – the sound was already being nurtured – after just 3 days of recording in the studio ‘A Lesson In Crime’ was slapped on the ass and wrapped in a blanket.

At their first show, the boys had more cupcakes than audience members. However, word of mouth is spreading in a way we have no handle over – the new arrival has been announced – please try and keep up.

Tracklist