The Be Rad Blog

I discovered Tokyo Police Club in the wake of The Strokes’ First Impressions of Earth. Yearning for more Strokes material, TCP were a breath of fresh air – I’m a very harsh critic when it comes to indie-rock because, well, nothing compares to The Strokes. But, TCP’s debut EP, A Lesson In Crime was so refreshing that I couldn’t help but fall in love. It’s didn’t hurt that the opening song “Cheer It On” sounded like a pumped up Strokes song either.

The two year gap between A Lesson In Crime and their first LP, Elephant Shell, was sprinkled with the Smith EP, which more or less just sounded like extras off A Lesson In Crime. With Elephant Shell, I was hoping for the raw grandeur that originally made me like TCP, but it unfortunately was lacking. From here, I lost interest. Because of this, TCP’s latest LP, Champ, slipped right under my radar.

A friend of mine came over to grab some music off my computer and he asked if I had given Champ as listen. I had not. So he played “Bambi” for me and I was instantaneously taken back to that moment when I first heard the opening chords of “Cheer It On.” The energy was there. The guitar plucks and chords are arranged in such a way that you kind of trip out listening. It sounded new, yet it had that spaced out production that gave A Lesson In Crime it’s cohesive sound. It’s was like falling in love all over again. “Bambi” is undoubtedly going to go down as one of my favorite songs of 2010.

Tokyo Police Club – Bambi

Bonus: Tokyo Police Club – Cheer It On

Tokyo Police Club (website)(myspace)(Twitter)(iTunes)(Amazon)

Be Rad. Enjoy.