After
listening to the same old much-loved summery albums on a continual loop
(Friendly Fires, Vampire Weekend, etc.), we were glad to add this to our
collection of Songs To Listen To When The Weather’s Hot. Here’s our take on
this refreshing mix of indie, alternative and post-punk, courtesy of NY-based
band The Drums.
1. Best
Friend
The Drums
waste no time with introductions – kicking off their eponymous debut with their hit ‘Best Friend’; one of their
best-known songs which depicts a hypothetical situation in which Jacob (The
Drums’ guitarist) dies and his best friend Jonny (lead singer of The Drums)
misses him, but eventually feels he has to move on. Confused? We are too.
Nonetheless, it’s a good song combining an upbeat melody with deeper, darker
lyrics; something which The Drums seem to do very well (this becomes clear as
the album progresses).
2. Me
And The Moon
This is a
great example of one of the Drums’ intriguing song titles- the track describes
a cold, failing relationship as ‘is it me and you or is it me and the
moon?’ The song strangely contains a
section extremely similar to that of the single ‘Forever and Ever, Amen’ (track
6), but apart from that, it is a catchy tune in its own right, with the synthy instrumental
section sounding very post-punk.
3. Let’s Go Surfing
This was the
song which first introduced me (Felicity) to The Drums way back in 2010. Two
years and several hundred plays later, I still love the song as much as the
first time I heard it. Its feelgood chorus and distinctive whistle hook,
alongside carelessly optimistic lyrics (“he’s going to make it all better”, “I
wanna go surfing\ I don’t care about nothing”) and harmonised bridge, set this
tune aside as a timeless summer anthem which will remain on our playlist for
many summers to come.
4. Book Of Stories
This song is
definitely more of a grower rather than one which is immediately a favourite.
It isn’t one of our top tracks on this album, but fits in well with the overall
sound of ‘The Drums’. The lyrics are
very typical of the band, with the somewhat depressing chorus ‘I thought my
life would get easier, instead it’s getting harder’, contrasting with the
upbeat, catchy instrumental.
5. Skippin’
Town
Singer Jonny
Pierce makes the most of his vocal range on this track, jumping from high to
low and back again when singing the introductory “ooh ee oo ee oo-ooh”s which
are recycled at various other intervals in the song. This is a track which
definitely relies more on technicalities, such as vocals and instrumentals,
than on lyrics – meaning that it is likely to stick in your mind very quickly.
6. Forever And Ever Amen
This is one
of our favourite songs on the album- it’s just so happy and really stays in
your head after you’ve listened to it. The positively sentimental lyrics ‘It’s
forever, baby it’s forever’ make a change from the sadder, more downbeat lyrics
of most of the album and the song just wants to cheer you up from beginning to
end. If you’re only going to listen to one of the songs on this album, I
(Isabella) would choose this one!
7. Down
By The Water
It may be one
of the more melancholy songs on the album, but Down By The Water is by no means
a disappointment. The beat is a lot more apparent on this track, providing a
slow, steady, defined rhythm to accompany the tuba sound and Jonny Pierce’s
vocals. The result is a hauntingly romantic ballad which blurs the line between
lullaby and love song (the Cure reference there wasn’t intentional, despite
obvious similarities between the two bands which become clear on track 12 – The
Future). This is a song which could make you smile, or send shivers up your
spine, or possibly both.
8. It Will All End In Tears
Don’t be put
off by the supposedly bleak title of this song- in true The Drums fashion, the
track is not all you expect it to be at first glance. It is hard to call a ballad, as, despite it
being about a dysfunctional relationship, the upbeat guitars and enthusiastic
backing vocals make this track yet another of the band which easily gets stuck
in your head.
9. We
Tried
Another more
sombre, heartfelt track from The Drums, showcasing once again that sad songs
don’t have to be downbeat; We Tried continues to keep up the tempo, regardless
of the fact that this is a break-up song. Here, Pierce describes his feelings
of loneliness after the breakdown of a relationship – which he attempted to
rekindle (“We tried\and we died”).
10. I Need Fun In My Life
The song
certainly wins the award for best song title. It begins with lead vocalist
Jonny Pierce singing ‘oh oh, oh oh’, along to the opening guitar instrumental-
something he does in a lot of songs, but always seems to work. The playful, nonsensical lyrics ‘I need life
in my fun fun fun’ are very easy to find yourself singing along with, and even
if you’re not quite sure what they mean, they go well with this upbeat and
toe-tapping album track.
11. I’ll
Never Drop My Sword
Upon reading
this song’s name, you might not know what to expect. Although this track
certainly suits the style of the album and band, the lyrics are difficult to
interpret and a lot of repetition is used – this isn’t particularly a stand-out
track. The lyric “do you think that Jesus loves me?” is the band’s first
reference to the theme of religion, which is a lot more prominent in The Drums’
sophomore album, Portamento.
12. The Future
I (Isabella)
often think The Drums sound like The Cure, and this track is the one which I
would say reminds me most of the gothic post-punk band. This is not a bad comparison at all- we both
love The Cure, and it’s great to hear a band which has this sound to their music,
as it is often hard to find at the moment.
This track smoothly finishes off one of our favourite debut albums, and
it is clear, from The Drums even better second album, Portamento (released in
2011) that they definitely do have a future.
