Two Door Cinema Club Releases Solid Debut with “Tourist History”

There’s a youthful embrace for all things synth coming from musicians barely or not even alive in the ’80s. As one who gasped with the crowd as the Cure took the stage without a drum kit and began the set by pushing play to beats on a prerecorded track, I’m enjoying the current offerings by bands such as Passion Pit, Friendly Fires and Two Door Cinema Club. Two Door Cinema Club began three years ago by a trio of boys in Northern Ireland when they were 15 — do the math and be amazed. Sam Halliday and Alex Trimble actually knew each other in grammar school and began studying music together before meeting Kevin Baird. When a drummer dropped out, they experimented with manufacturing their own drum tracks and decided they liked it that way. Their name comes from a mispronunciation of a local cinema, known as the Tudor Cinema club and their new debut album, Tourist History, refers to the popularity of their hometown of Bangor as well as the band’s extended travels with their gain in notoriety. This follows songs on a Kitsune music compilation and an EP produced by the French record label last year. Tourist History is comprised of ten tightly composed songs which bounce along with shout outs, crowd noises and walls of electronic sound.

I discovered “Something Good Can Work” last spring and promptly put it in a prominent spot on my personal playlist. Its unabashed happy-go-lucky feel had me hooked.

Another favorite off the EP, “Do You Want It All”, leads off with manufactured high hats, guitar arpeggios and keyboard chords before Trimble’s sweet vocals. The next song, “This Is the Life” is a new fun find, cranking up a funky groove into another wash of synths before the vocals come in — the title becomes the chorus followed by ‘woos’ most appropriately. “I Can Talk” starts with percussive vocals which explode to a full blown rollicking sound to amp up the energetic approach.

“Eat That Up, It’s Good For You” also begins slowly with lyrics like “You would look a little better, you know, if you wore less makeup” as a reminder of the teen viewpoint but all is forgiven by another explosion of sound at the chorus with more cheerful shout outs in the background. Everything dramatically drops out to end with only the hum of a chord.

Tourist History can be previewed until May 5th on kcrw.com and the band will visit the station’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic” show on May 4th. It’s a live session that I already have marked on my calendar.