"Tourist History"
04 March 2010, 12:00
| Written by Emily Sergent
It would be easy to write off this album at first listen. And many probably will. Why? Because it’s another 10-track album filled with 3-minute tracks of cutesy indie-pop. Does it deserve a second chance though?Well, first up, Two Door Cinema Club have had a fair amount of hype surrounding them over the past year and this album has actually been quite a long time coming. Plus, they are on the very respectable label Kitsuné Music, and as a general rule of thumb, anything from them deserves a listen.The first thing that springs to mind is that every song sounds like it could be by a million other bands. You know those tracks that pop up on your iPod every now and then when it’s on shuffle; and you play that little game with yourself where you refrain from sneaking a peek at the screen in the hope that you can figure out who it is? Or maybe that’s just me”¦ Well, anyways, all of the songs on this record could give you hours of entertainment in that sense.Hmm, not a great start, but not a total write off just yet. A few more listens, and it’s quite easy to fall victim to involuntary toe-tapping and possibly a bit of chair dancing (if listening whilst seated). Opening track ‘Cigarettes In The Theatre’ pretty much sets the scene in this vain. Abundant with jangly guitars, chirpy vocals and a very upbeat rhythm, if you like this opening track you’re basically going to love this album. Hate it, and you should probably give up right away.The danceable indie-theme continues with the happy-clap-strewn ‘Come Back Home’, followed by the guitar-driven electro-pop of ‘Do You Want It All’. It's all good, clean, cheery fun.‘Something Good Can Work’ ”“ the one you’re most likely to have heard before - is up there in the ‘stand out track’ category, purely for the fact that it’s so god damn catchy. Joining that would have to be ‘I Can Talk’ ”“ which could be a blue-print for the perfect indie-pop track (but where have I heard that uh-oh-uh-uh-oh before?!).With ‘Undercover Martyn’ we’re treated to more jittery guitars and sing-along moments. It’s an undoubtedly familiar sound, but at the end of the day, you kind of know what you’re going to get and in that sense, the record will tick a lot of boxes for a lot of people. Basically, 4-5 years ago this album would have been considered exciting, now, it’s probably verging on ‘safe’.I’m torn on how to conclude: on the one hand it’s nothing new, but on the other, they’ve done good with a tried and tested formula (plus it’s really hard to be critical of tunes this catchy!). Coming in at just over 30 minutes in length though, you could probably afford to risk giving at go either way.
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