The Drums - 'Best Friend'
It's always odd when you settle down for a good listen to a band who you know are very highly thought of by the tastemaker magazines and squeebloggers of the world. Somehow, the fact that the world keeps spinning on its axis, and colours remain untransformed becomes the band's fault, as if they personally told you they would change your life and it turns out they can't even help with the washing up.
The Drums are not a clearly world-beating band in the mould of Muse or Oasis, they're too angular, too awkward, to bookish for that. They're not pop stars in the making either. Look at the video. For all that it's cute and clever and charming, they're all radiating embarrassment that someone could be looking at them and holding a camera. Jonathan Pierce's little dances and hand-puppetry can't quite disguise his blushes, and he's the star.
(. Soxy!)
Of course, that's all part of their appeal. Since Vampire Weekend proved you don't need to be aggressively charismatic as performers to stick in the memory, there's been a broader acceptance of slightly geeky indie bands. They're not trying to follow a hand-me-down lineage, they're trying to make the best pop music they can, using ideas and voices and instruments which are almost, but not quite, up to the task.
For example, 'Best Friend' is blessed with a massive rusty anchor of a hook, which is delivered in a great big mooey bellow as if it is whalesong. The lyrics are an account of the grief process, dedicated to a close friend who has passed away, and it's an emotional tribute.
But being young fellas, and not poets, they're also kind of blunt. The smashing together of past and present tense in "you're my best friend, but then you died" is kind of clumsy and kind of brilliant, and given the subject matter of the song, entirely fitting.
So I guess that's what I'm driving at. The Drums are a little bit not quite, perhaps too not quite to become as properly very as their fiercest champions are claiming they will. There again, it's not their fault people are getting in a tizzy. And if no-one was paying attention, would that make this feel like a lost gem that needed defending?
Oh stuff it. I'm thinking WAY too hard about this.
Download: Out now
CD Released: March 29th
³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comment number 1.
At 24th Mar 2010, CurtainJerker wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 24th Mar 2010, spirit wrote:I am fully aware of better songs in The Drums kit .
Pleasant song , catchy chorus , spangly guitar riffs , but don't be fooled by this tiny little morsel of a taster , there is much better to come .
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Comment number 3.
At 24th Mar 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:Another great single from The Drums. If Spirit's correct that they have better songs on the album then we're in for a treat this year!
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Comment number 4.
At 2nd Apr 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:Seems like The Drums aren't getting the commercial success people were hoping for their song currently seems to be stuck at 120 in the Itunes Charts, this is odd because surely if this song had been released a couple of years ago then it would fair much better.
This raises an important question, does the lack of money to buy singles nowadays mean we now live in an age where alternative music can only survive in the album charts with the single charts now dominated by some of the least innovative pop music around? e.g: Justin Bieber, Cheryl Cole, Jason Derulo etc.
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