Two Door Cinema Club Review

I first came across this band through my girlfriend who had downloaded the album and was constantly listening to one of the more well known songs off the album, What You Know. I enjoyed the song but I never thought about listening to the rest of the album despite the single being very upbeat and catchy and similar to the sort of the music that I am into.
The band were announced to play Reading 2011 and being as I was going on the day that they were playing I decided to give their debut album, Tourist History, a listen.
The first song on the album, Cigarettes in the Theatre starts off rather menacingly and suggests that this could have darker elements than What you Know suggested. However 30 seconds into it, the song burst into euphoric synth pop which is what I was anticipating when I first decided to listen to it. Despite this it did not disappoint in anyway and its good to hear an album that is uplifting and euphoric despite the hard times we live in at the moment. Certain parts of the album remind me of Bloc Party who excel in blending guitars with synths and while there are no sad or emotional numbers that make up some of Bloc Party's albums, its refreshing to hear a band who build on their influences instead of directly mimicking them.

Another strong point of the album is that the album tracks are worth listening to over and over again. While I'm the sort of music listener who will listen through the "bad" tracks of albums instead of skipping them, the album tracks are practically singles. In fact the whole album sounds like a greatest hits, instead of a debut album. One of the stand out tracks is Something Good Can Work which basically sounds like the definitive summer anthem, with a euphoric synth hook and jangly guitars, it is a thoroughly enjoyable song and should be an indie rock staple for years to come.
However the album is not exactly perfect. Because the songs are all upbeat, it can be a bit repetitive and there does not seem to be a lot of substance beneath the shiny synth pop surface. Also Alex Trimble does not sound a particularly unique front man, his vocals sound like every other indie rock singer out there. Its the riffs and the catchiness of the songs that are the stars of the show, not the singing or the lyrics.
Despite this you cannot deny that this is a very enjoyable album and if you are feeling down, then put this album on because I guarantee you it will put you in a good mood for the rest of the day. It is also somehow captures the feel and sound of an idyllic summer especially What You Know and Undercover Martyn and you can imagine these songs soundtracking your summer and many summers to come. All that I have left to say is, I should listen to my girlfriend more often when it comes to music!