They Might Be Giants – The Drums
We might as well start the year with a guarantee, there is no might with these guys, The Drums will be giants. Indeed this should have been run six month ago when the Summertime EP first surfaced. Shoulda, coulda, woulda aside, Jonathon Pierce and Jacob Graham are destined to be the poster-boys of indie-pop in twenty ten.
Blending surf rock with straight-forward 50’s pop, the aesthetic of 80’s era Factory Records along with romance of 60’s girl groups, The Drums sound is a sonic happy pill. Summery, danceable and unfeasibly catchy, so catchy Rolling Stones magazine have likened them to swine flu.
One of their first tunes ‘Best Friend’ may remind you of some other 80’s gloom pop as Pierce cries “You’re my best friend but then you die”, all round vowels and doomed innocence. Think Manchester and quiffs, and The Drums also three-minute tales of love yearned, lost and unrequited.
Jonathon and Jacob are actually best friends, since childhood. Out of boredom they formed The Drums in 2008 when they were initially based in Florida which explains the bouncy surf-pop influence, in particular the infectious ‘Let’s Go Surfing’. If you’re not already familiar with this track, one spin and you’ll be hooked.
They relocated to Brooklyn, New York for further exposure, became a four-piece band with Adam Kessler on bass and Conor Hanwick on drums, and things couldn’t have worked out better for them; in a scene awash with whimsical, tribal fusions The Drums are refreshingly direct and singular.
Recently signed to Moshi Moshi, The Drums’ untitled debut album is due for release in the first half of this year. Bringing their reputed high energy show on the road as part of this year’s NME Shockwave Tour the boys will not be part of the Irish leg of the jaunt but chances are they’ll pop up at a festival near you.
MP3: The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing
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