Forget the difficult second album, it’s the third that’s the really tricky one. It arrives at a point in an artist’s career where they’ve had their fun, but now need to knuckle down and get a little more serious. Admittedly, there have been some great ones over the years (see ‘London Calling’, ‘OK Computer’ or ‘In Utero’) but many fail to successfully straddle the line between keeping up a band’s initial appeal while offering up something new and exciting.
Given the quality of its early singles it seemed that Two Door Cinema Club’s third full-length release, ‘Gameshow,’ might just succeed where others have failed. Whether it was with the guitar driven dynamism of the title track or the pop brilliance of the super funky Bad Decisions, there was no reason to suggest that the record would be anything other than a creative success.
Unfortunately, though, it’s easy to see why these tracks were among those chosen to lead the album in, as the rest of the record simply doesn’t offer a whole lot.
Lavender suffers from a sluggish rhythm made no better by Alex Trimble’s uninspired vocal, while Invincible falls victim to clichéd ballad syndrome. Good Morning is the musical equivalent of looking at a clock twice in 10 seconds because you have no recollection of what you saw the first time.
The lyrics don’t provide anything to sink your teeth into, either. “I’ll be here for centuries...sweet magnetic energy,” Trimble drones on Lavender. It sounds nice, but what does it actually mean?
But at least Two Door Cinema Club are trying something a little sonically different here. True, they are clearly making an unabashed attempt to capitalise on the current pop-funk trend, but this innovation largely works in the band’s favour. It’s just a shame that the album as a whole doesn’t greatly benefit from the trio’s willingness to occasionally shake things up a bit.
Essentially, what this LP boils down to is a brief collection of well-executed pop songs bogged down by a whole lot of filler and foibles. It’s a decent effort, but it’s safe to say that ‘Gameshow’ won’t be winning any prizes for the indie mainstays.
Two Door Cinema Club Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue January 24 2017 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Wed January 25 2017 - CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
Fri January 27 2017 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Sat January 28 2017 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Mon January 30 2017 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Tue January 31 2017 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Thu February 02 2017 - LIVERPOOL Liverpool Guild of Students
Fri February 03 2017 - GLASGOW Barrowland
Sat February 04 2017 - GLASGOW Barrowland
Mon February 06 2017 - SOUTHAMPTON O2 Guildhall
Tue February 07 2017 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Thu February 09 2017 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
Fri February 10 2017 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
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