With their fourth studio album it’s clear The Drums have their signature sound down-pat. This stuff is whimsical as hell. It’s also versatile. You could happily play this during a chilled house-party or while cleaning the house on a Sunday arvo.
It’s been three years since the last album but thankfully singer/songwriter Jonathan Pierce didn’t feel the need to come out all guns blazing. Instead we kick off with Mirror, an incredibly haunting melody that carries along to that familiar guitar work we’ve all grown to love. Pierce not only wrote every song but played every instrument too, using the album as an autobiography of sorts. That’s probably why the melancholy within every verse comes across ten-fold.
I’ll Fight for Your Life is a personal statement, while Blood Under My Belt is reminiscent of The Drums’ earlier work; and Pierce’s lyrics echo that same feeling of nostalgia.
There’s a shift in tone from Head of the Horse onwards, and even though the subject matter isn’t exactly cheerful it still feels upbeat – same goes for Under the Ice, and The Drums’ entire back-catalogue for that matter. Are U Fucked is much of the same, but Your Tenderness bounces along with something a little more out there, including the always-welcome sax solo.
