Artist: Tokyo Police Club

Album: 10x10x10
Genre: Indie/rock
Label: Mean Beard/Mom & Pop/Dine Alone/Memphis Industries/Dew Process

Tokyo Police Club seem to have made a career out of sounding not all that bothered about anything. Or at least, that’s the overriding impression I get from this record, which is full of laconic drivel so laid-back it could be horizontal. To be fair, it’s an album of covers and it is for the most part very appealing laconic drivel, but the inherent lack of oomph in David Monks’ voice is something of a cause for concern. For the most part, the songs are decent – there’s some compelling re-imaginings before the last few lose focus and waver – though, perhaps predictably, few can match the tracks on which they’re based.

“South Side” is one of the better takes, and a solid opener. The band hang on to the sleazy vocals and give it an intensive heavy bass line to kick things off. The contrasting vocals (Morgan Kibby is on guest duties) work well during the chorus, bouncing vividly off the music, and giving it something of a softer side after the edgier opening. The sense of gravitas is still firmly present in the verses, as is the original’s somewhat urban feel, making for a thought-provoking introduction. “Sweetness” manages to preserve Jimmy Eat World’s inherent singalong quality while injecting a few quirks. There’s a touch of synth to its opening strains (possibly inspired by the presence of Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit as a guest vocalist), and the vocals are happily a bit poppier here than elsewhere. The guitar is suitably animated and energetic, trading off well with the more thoughtful refrains. It sticks a little too rigidly to the original, but it is quite colourful, the layered backing vocals are inspired, and the midsection’s colourful bombardment of guitar refrains are good fun.

The band’s interpretation of The Strokes’ “Under Control” that follows breezes by without much impact, before they take on “Since U Been Gone.” This song is perversely popular for covers (A Day To Remember’s offering lingers in the memory), and to be fair the band do leave their mark on it. David Monks’ vocals bring a certain kind of languid, jaded vibe and they spice the original’s diffused guitars up beautifully, but the overall effect is a little too harsh and detached. There’s a criminal lack of passion to it, considering how ludicrously fun the original is by itself. “Little Sister” is essentially a copy/paste of the QOTSA version, with added sharpening of the guitars. It sounds a bit grim but the quality of the song itself makes it impressive, and the solo oozes bravado.

“All My Friends” throws aside the restrained build-up of LCD Soundsystem’s initial song, opening emphatically with a brisk and catchy rush of music. It takes flight as it progresses – the bare touch of a solo in lieu of the discordant piano is a luminous touch and it anchors itself with a hearty bass line. It proceeds in the same exhausting beat throughout, Monks’ vocals so laid-back they pale in comparison with the constant and eager pulse of the music. When it finally slows and casts aside this surliness, it becomes quite beautifully meditative and tacks a sweetly engaging ending onto a reverential cover.

“Kim and Jessie” is a good take on its source material but lacks character. It opens with a high-pitched, slightly synthesized intro before fading into a kind of bittersweet soliloquy. The temperate verses escalate slightly in the noisier, burgeoning chorus but it doesn’t work particularly well. Rather, everything begins to sound like a mishmash of random synths. That said, the original isn’t really infectious to begin with, so it’s not all their fault.

The band end the record with a version of “Party in the USA” which is all but negligible to my ears, following The Fold’s rather delightful re-imagining of this song as “Every Band in the USA” some time back. Nonetheless, they give it their all and do it justice until the misguided breakdown near the end, during which everyone starts shouting out the names of random US cities.

As covers go, this is a perfectly adequate collection, sporting a few less obvious choices alongside the wry pop songs. I wouldn’t call it essential listening and the whole thing does have a certain pointlessness to it, but there’s a lot worse out there, and established fans should receive it well.

SCORE: 7/10
Review written by Grace Duffy

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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