After several rapid and prolific releases, The Drums have released their new album, Abysmal Thoughts. But is the nature the same as the name?
Numerous drop-outs, line up changes and many a departure for solo projects, The Drums is now effectively the solo project of Jonny Pierce. To his credit, the entire album is just his work, all instruments and vocals are his, showing he’s definitely a man of many tricks. That said, it can also be said he is the jack of all trades but the master of none…
Mirror is the opening track, it sends us straight into a melancholy indie riff. It’s a song that’s loaded with heavy handed imagery about identity with lyrics such as ‘I look in the mirror, when the sun goes down, I ask myself, who are you now?’. The lack of subtlety I can take in indie, I’ve actually come to expect it, but it doesn’t make it more welcome. Could the identity crisis be due to the collapse of the band’s actual structure? As previously mentioned, ‘The Drums’ is technically the solo project of Jonny Pierce now, the song comes across as reflective (excuse the pun). The song is full of what you’d expect vocally from the genre, it’s got massive vocal range jumps, for no real discernible reason and plenty of ooo’s and aaa’s to ‘complement’ the melody. Blood Under My Belt is the more positive reflection of Mirror. Melodically and structurally, they’re one and the same; same vocal style and form. When interviewed about an actual solo project that never came to light in recent years, Jonny was quoted as saying “I wanted to be as self-indulgent as possible with this album. This is pop done the way I think it should be done.” For a start, having no real influence in a genre, it’s a big leap to declare how something should be done, secondly, the album thus far; definitely self-indulgent.
Abysmal Thoughts is the fourth studio album by New York City surf rock band, The Drums.
Not long into the album, and with plenty of draw from The Beach Boys, a stated influence of the band, we’re presented with Heart Basel, a summery, shimmery, surf-pop song. The problem here is corrupting the influence however. Shimmering guitars and acapella backing vocals are fine, when done well, like The Beach Boys. But insist on plastering a synth and effects board over everything and you’re setting yourself up for a frankly arrogant rip-off. Much like the vast majority of the ten-a-penny indie bands that still linger on the scene these days, The Smiths are touted as a major influence, with Morrissey himself as the miserable God-King. Under The Ice is a clear homage to The Smiths with the style and structure lifted quite deftly from them. As such though, why have the imitation when you can have the real deal? Another heavy draw on a key influence is I’ll Fight For Your Life – Jonny’s love of Kraftwerk and his Goat Explosion roots are showing here, with a track loaded with old-school synth, a backing melody that could almost be mistaken for throwback hit Popcorn and repetitive vocals throughout.
Around the midway mark we’re met with Shoot The Sun Down. In fairness here, the song is aptly named, the band’s usual heavy use of reverb is, for once, done relatively well here, giving a fairly ‘spacey’ feel to the track and ignoring the lyrics (‘I put a blanket over my face’…really?) you’re left with a pretty decent song that at least suits a summery roadtrip. Come back into the stratosphere however and we’re left with Head Of The Horse, a whiny drawn out track with lyrics repeated so often you may feel Pierce is genuinely ad-libbing it. The song seems to be trying to communicate some deeper emotion or story but lost amongst the damn reverb it’ll be a wonder to try and discern it.
Sadly as the songs continue we’re left with consistent shallowness in the lyrics. Despite Pierce’s impressive ability as a multi-instrumentalist, the album lacks depth. Are U F*cked is the peak of this. It genuinely listens as though you’re listening to a teenager at a festival who’s just paid £10 for a bag of oregano and is trying to convince everyone he’s experiencing a whole new existential plane before rushing off to tell strangers in the crowd how high he is, it’s just agitating. Rich Kids is another glaring example of a lack of introspection on Pierce’s part. The song attacks the very subject matter of the title ‘Rich Kids’ and how they make Pierce sick and how they’re all factory made and all the same; this comes from the band that came from well-off white American Christian families that seems to do little but mirror their top influences, the hypocrisy screams out here.
Overall, the album could be viewed as another boring entry to the genre that applies itself too retrospectively to their influences; but it goes further than that. The cockiness exhibited here falls far short of Morrissey’s aloof air and drops them far short of the mark across the board.
Author: Steve, Southgate Store
