Two Door Cinema Club’s story begins three years ago with three 15-year olds at school in a town just outside of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Vocalist-guitarist Alex Trimble and bassist Kevin Baird studied music together and guitarist Sam Halliday was another childhood friend. The trio initially formed a rock band with a drummer, but after his departure, the remaining members began experimenting using a laptop to generate beats.
“It was born of necessity at first because we didn’t know any other drummers,” says Alex. “We weren’t sure it would work but we grew to love it.”
The trio began playing gigs in 2007 and skipped going to university to focus on the band. Fortunately, the gamble paid off -- the band's debut EP, “Four Words to Stand On,” was released in January 2009 by the French label Kitsuné to positive reviews and music blog buzz.
Here on the band’s full-length debut the music-mad trio delivers on the buzz of their EP, offering 10 tracks that fizz with invention and sparkling melodies. The tunes are rooted in rock and pop, with elements of electronica and Afro-beats, but the sum is greater than any of its indie-electro-pop parts.
The album has two general themes, explains Alex – ‘love’ songs (“but not in a typical sense; I’m adamant about avoiding clichés”) and songs that “chart our progression over these past 18 months. Where we’ve come from to where we are now with this album.”
Listening to Tourist History is like a refreshing shot in the arm. The light-footed yet hard-driving energy and dreamy brand of urgency come together with woozy synths and digi-funk backdrops that bounce, swing and rock behind Alex’s catchy pop vocals. Best of all the infectious energy reminds you to the lighter brighter side of things – a formula that works whether you’re 18 or 88.
Tourist History will be available on-demand April 4 through May 5, 2010.
Two Door Cinema Club will perform live on Morning Becomes Eclectic on Tuesday, May 4, 2010.
Official artist website: TwoDoorCinemaClub.com
Track listing
1. Cigarettes In The Theatre
2. Come Back Home
3. Undercover Martyn
4. Do You Want It All?
5. This Is The Life
6. Something Good Can Work
7. I Can Talk
8. What You Know
9. Eat That Up, It’s Good For You
10. You're Not Stubborn