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The Drums

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
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Album Info
Label: Downtown
Release Date: 14 September 2010
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Indie, Pop
Summary
Two former members of the band Elkland comprise the New York indie rock quartet The Drums, who releases the follow-up to its 2009 EP "Summertime!"
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Drowned In Sound
Nevertheless, their strengths far outweigh any perceived weaknesses, and despite the odd trite lyrical observation, The Drums is undoubtedly the most rejuvenating, sprightliest guitar-based pop record released this year.
Read Full Review >musicOMH.com
Like Vampire Weekend's debut, all the tracks are immediate but they run the risk of running before they can walk, wearing thin and growing tired because there's nothing to unearth on the 100th, or even the 10th listen. But, taken at face value, they're riding well above their own wave of hype - expect to hear this record everywhere this summer.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express (NME)
More than anything, the album’s quality is a relief. The Drums have proved that for all the prevalence of glittery synth-carting unicorn-botherers in our times, there’s still a hurricane of heartsore life in guitar pop.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
The Drums' sound is still distinctive, and even if the album feels a little calculated at times, it’s still greater than the sum of its parts.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
Pierce's vulnerability isn't an affectation or a device. It's disarmingly sincere, expressed through poignant lyrics bereft of cheap sentimentality. And it's this inclusive, generous ethos that elevates the band into a rarified echelon, with the potential to achieve even greater things down the road.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Therein lies the sentimenta heart of the indie dream: The Drums provide its steadiest beat in years. [Jul 2010, p.134]
Mojo
It's a breath of fresh (summer) air. [Jul 2010, p.94]
Pitchfork
There is just as much evidence to suggest-- particularly in the album's less exuberant but more revelatory second half-- that the band this band truly excels in more intimate spaces.
Read Full Review >BBC Music
The Drums are no longer teens, admittedly, but their record skilfully conjures a time long before credit crunches, when the most important thing in the world was your current squeeze.
Read Full Review >Clash Music
What The Drums lack in originality and authenticity they make up for with some of the purest moments of fun and summertime joy this side of the next Eighties revival.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
Being crazily upbeat to the point of irritation (pushing bittersweet too far with a sunny electro tune about the death of a friend), making stupid mistakes ('Skipping' Town' might as well be called 'Let's Go Water Ski-ing'), and generally proving that trying to impose happiness on the Factory sound - being the Joyful Division - doesn't quite work. And still…there's a lot to cherish too.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
As a whole, The Drums is a conflicting package. The band has reined in its eccentricities considerably, and when post-punk and C86 remains so prominent, this seems a dangerous thing.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
After years of landfill indie's dispiriting predictability, the Drums' pallid mithering is certainly different, but it feels like a pose, and a limited one at that.
Read Full Review >Uncut
You suspect that The Drums want it a bit too much, making for an album that's not quite as nonchalant and breezy as it ought to be. [Jul 2010, p.110]
PopMatters
The album’s second half suffers from a considerable drop-off in quality after the relatively strong first half.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 0.0 (out of 10) based on 0 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
