The Drums - Summertime

Author

Anetta Nevin

Published

Thursday 12th November

The Drums debut album Summertime is true to its name. Their sound is bright, light, happy and easy going, which is reminiscent of a cheerful summer. This sound and feel is maintained through playful melodic whistling, hand claps, bright vocals, synths and driving bass lines, combined with sharp dynamic shifts, bright key signatures and a youthful (yet sometimes naïve) attitude towards life.

The opening track of the album, ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ is a well-crafted carefree and upbeat pop song. Simple whistling carries through the main hook of the song. There is a shortened remix of this song at the end of the album, which acts as a reprise, and closes the album like the cover of a book.

In total contrast to ‘Let’s go Surfing’ is ‘Down By the Water’. ‘Down by the Water’ is a downbeat and heartfelt love song, and because of this and it’s sincere tonality it stands out on the album. As the instrumentation on this track is fairly stripped back, attention is drawn to Johnathan Pierce’s voice and the lyrics to the song.

Another striking track is the texturally exquisite ‘Don’t Be a Jerk, Johnny’. Featuring a duet with a female vocalist, this song explores the theme of a destructive relationship. Johnathan Pierce (portraying Johnny) sings of how the girl (Jenny) has changed from being so pretty to becoming tragic and full of horseshit. Throughout the song Jenny feebly defends herself, asking Johnny to stop being such a jerk. The fragility of Jenny’s voice makes this song really work, it is believable that she is ‘a flower trampled on the ground’ and that Johnny can most simply be described as a Jerk.

Overall the album is pieced together well. The songs that it features have a flow between them through the stories they tell. From the sarcasm and lust within ‘The Saddest Summer Ever” to the bushy tailed love-song ‘Down By The Water’, through to the sad tale of ‘Don’t be a Jerk Johnny’, and to the reflection displayed in ‘Instruct Me’, this album has a real sense of resolution to it, which is enhanced by the use of the two versions of ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ acting as bookends for the album.