Tokyo Police Club: A Lesson In Crime

Seven songs in just over sixteen minutes. Sweet. TPC’s four members have been walking the line of mass critical acclaim lately as the tunes from their EP, A Lesson in Crime, have grown from something they used to have to lure an audience in with cupcakes to check out, to something that’s garnered showcases at last year’s CMJ festival and a 3.5 Bunnies review from Playboy. Do the rock’n’roll dreams of barely legal boys get any bigger? The guys are still young enough to think that making music can really just be about having fun, and should allow a pass for their penchant for handclaps and at times borderline ridiculous lyrics about samurais and robots on this debut EP. Fortunately, the band’s growing audience seems to be seeing right through to the incredibly melodic foundations of the songs and the fresh, freak-out energy with which they’re delivered. Countless comparisons have been made, from their Les Savy Fav-ish guitar and bass duels to the similar filtered delivery of the Strokes; it’s true that the band’s next move could really find them going in any musical direction. Let’s hope the excitement of these possibilities continues to energize the boys on their upcoming full-length release. And let’s hope they learn new ways beyond handclaps to express it.