LISTEN, DAMMIT!: Tokyo Police Club

One of the most exciting new bands out there right now - and one of my favorites - is Tokyo Police Club. This band sprang out of nowhere from the incredibly fertile Canadian indie music scene (think Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Feist, Stars, Wolf Parade, etc.) and caused a great stir with their 2006 debut EP A Lesson in Crime. According to their website: "Clocking in at a mere 16 minutes, A Lesson in Crime hits like a tornado, from the thunderous drums of 'Cheer it On' to the cathartic screaming coda to 'La Ferrassie.' The EP is a relentless barrage of pummeling bass and drums, stabbing keyboards, and sheets of delayed guitar, peppered with furious handclaps and lively group vocals."

Continuing our recent robot theme, "Citizens of Tomorrow" is a song about a not-too-distant future in which humans are enslaved by robots:




TPC has been praised by Rolling Stone and NME. They have performed at music festivals such as Glastonbury, Coachella, and Lollapalooza (where I first saw them live). Their songs are short, tight cheerful punches to the gut. Their hooks are addictive. Their energy onstage is raw and electric and is always guranteed to put the audience in an exuberant mood. I got to experience them again on October 8 at Schuba's in Chicago - a tiny venue that feels like someone's basement. They ran through both of their EPs, couple of singles, and a few tracks from their album in progress and the set still lasted no more than 45 minutes. Somehow, though, it didn't feel like a cheat. Their brand of Joy Division meets Bloc Party meets The Strokes post-punk vibe somehow feels fresh and original - the perfect antidote to a lot of the drab copycats out there right now.

In July, the band signed to Saddle Creek, the home of indie stalwarts Bright Eyes, among others. Their first LP is due winter 2008. With the excitement they have already generated with relatively little output, and the enthusiasm of their growing fan base, I would wager to say that TPC have a promising future ahead of them.

This video for "Cheer it On" is a darkly comic episode of madness and mayhem featuring seemingly innocent miniature figurines!:




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