Follow the former leader

In those days of spatial detachment, we find a Canadian band called TOKYO POLICE CLUB. Here and now we have plenty of exotism interlocked with a heavy dose of standardization - that's to say, a polite refusal of otherness. TOKYO POLICE CLUB sounds like THE STROKES in Toronto, THE STROKES from 2003 merging with the current Toronto Indie scene. There's no compromise, the guys replicate NY's proceedings with a slight inner-backward-looking approach. They turn their backs on ambiguity - they room may be on fire but their feet are firmly placed on left-of-the-field floor. TOKYO POLICE CLUB comprises Dave Monks (singer), guitarist Josh Hook, keyboardist Graham Wright and drummer Greg Alsop.

2007`s Smith EP is TOKYO POLICE CLUB's third overall, before they signed Saddle Creek, the Canadian equivalent of Sub Pop. By 2007 THE STROKES were a distant memory. Their 2006 record flopped. Cool arrogance gave place to Indie eccentricity. TOKYO POLICE CLUB is THE STROKES' aftermath. Have a hangover.

Feeling NY and looking Toronto, TOKYO POLICE CLUB unveils their 12:51 homage, Box. A sloppy mood precedes the concoction of electronic gurgles, Casio synths, detuned vocoders and featherweight monotony. With faux-humorous bah bah vocalizes preceding the thunderous crash of drums and bass, TOKYO POLICE CLUB has a singer that seems more comfortable in THE LIBERTINES than in THE STROKES (the guitarist harmonizes in BABYSHAMBLES' fashion). That alters the balance slightly away from replicating New Wave within a New Rock framework to living in the 2000s without a nostalgic safety net. That's why Box is the EP's highlight in what comes to conventional songwriting.

Cut Cut Paste is really a bad name, comparable to YEAH YEAH YEAHS' oddities. But it mirrors the proceedings, which are bad in spots. An uncontrollable urge from a bunch of underage nerds is what Cut Cut Paste invokes, this time closer to ARCTIC MONKEYS and HOT HOT HEAT. Cut cut paste. LIBERTINES' drunkenness overlapping faux-Punk choruses. Cut cut paste. Deranged post-Punk guitars finding ambivalence in obsessive synths. Cut cut paste. English boredom mirrored by Canadian impersonators. Cut cut paste! And the ultimate Indie-nerdism of "inspired" lyrics such as:

"As a trail of blood
Drips for both our chins,
You awake in my living room
To see its stained your moccasins"

A Lesson In Crime is TOKYO POLICE HOTEL's sole departure from sub-STROKES mold. A reflective ballad with a cute piano melody, it reminds me of BRIGHT EYES' conventional side. But instead of reaching heights comparable to, say, THE BAND OF HORSES, TOKYO POLICE HOTEL are rewarded remaining in repetition like COLDPLAY. It ends up insincere and pretentious, instead of lifting expectations.

There's an additional track, by far the most interesting here as it surpasses the tired New Rock mold with a remix. A strange remix of sorts, whoever RAC may be. A banjo sampler? Mariachi brass section? Be Good's remix is that oddity, a remix that surpasses the conventional inception. A GO TEAM! subdued percussion is particularly fine mixed with lasso vocals and a glockenspiel. Like BEIRUT in a hazy dream of mirrors, TOKYO POLICE CLUB may be more than simply Toronto backstreet boys dreaming of NY. See ya!

File under: THE STROKES

Tracklist:

* * * * Box
* * 1/2 Cut Cut Paste
* * * 1/2 A Lesson In Crime
* * * * Be Good (RAC Remix)