Rating: NNN
Tokyo Police Club’s third album, their first in four years, is the Toronto band’s poppiest to date.
Clocking in at nearly nine minutes, opening track Argentina meanders around a catchy melody, using language tricks like chanting “dark” in one pre-chorus and then “bright” in another. Then there’s the single Hot Tonight, all guitar rock and harmonizing “woos,” showcasing the new pop-star polish of David Monks’s nasal voice.
The new aesthetic makes sense. The band said they wanted an album that didn’t conform to trends, and Forcefield definitely isn’t part of any “wave.” It is, however, stuck between indie rock and top 40 pop, with its catchy riffs and rhyming verses, experimental keyboards and lengthy singles. All said, it’s a collection to bob your head and sing along to, something that will never go out of style.
Top track: Tunnel Vision