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07/29/09 BOWERY BALLROOM NY
07/30/09 Rooftop Films! Brooklyn, NY 08/07/09 Don Hill’s "Summertime!" EP RELEASE PARTY! NY 08/14/09 Glasslands Brooklyn, NY 08/27/09 Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn 08/29/09 Littlefield - After The Jump Show! Brooklyn 10/21/09 Santos - CMJ SHOWCASE! NY Free Download  |
The Drums – Summertime! EP
New Yorkers sure love a dance song or fifty, distinction be damned. If it has a beat and an economical use of words, the masses will adore. Every day—hell, every hour—a recent NYU grad is composing something weird and tasteless on his vintage Sony keyboard; something that’ll enthuse legs and discourage brainwaves. Fun, fervor, frivolity: the 3 F requisite for fleeting fame.
The Drums are New York’s current triple F. Says who? Says your momma. The lads live in Brooklyn but claim 50s surf culture as the main source of inspiration. Summertime! is full of sunny nonchalance and lighthearted sass. Do you often find your life lacking in ubiquitous hand claps? Never fear, the Drums have your back. Are you blue? The Drums will take that frown and turn it upside down. It’s all cheerful and neat, excepting the fact that lyrically, the content is ridiculous. Take the following line from “Don’t Be a Jerk, Jony”: “Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, don’t be lazy, I know it’s hopeless, I know it’s sad, I know you’re stupid, I know it’s sad.” I think I wrote that same poem on the inside cover of my American History textbook. Or “If you’ve got some children, just love them, if you’ve got a baby, just hold him, ‘cause they need it, they want it, they need it, they gotta have it” (“Saddest Summer”). I thought babies needed Nyquil and Gone With the Wind (the extended version). What a startling realization to learn that all they need is love.
Readers, I’m being facetious; but so are the Drums. Let’s assume for one minute that Summertime! is basic satire, or, at the very least, tongue-in-cheek homage to a simpler era. One of milkshakes, promise rings, clean beach games and sweetheart love. If the Shangri-Las wore skinny jeans and horizontally-striped sweaters, they would totally hold hands with Jon and Jacob! For chrissake, the band even has a pair of retro styled back up singers. These are not the gimmicks of accidental AM imposters. These are conscious imaginative whimsical decisions, and sometimes the effort works: “Down By the Water” sounds like an awesomely deranged version of a 1960s couple’s dance as realized by the 1980s (somewhat like the film “Hairspray”).
Herein lies the problem: today it may be surf, tomorrow it may be German industrial—who knows what the kids will crave. Gimmicks, while amusing, never last. Herein lies the solution: New York, somewhat paradoxically, is both the breeding ground for trend and the cemetery where all things passé go to die. The city is essentially self-cleaning. Thus, it’s my advice to enjoy the music while it lasts. There’s a reason why you bought those hideously sequined dancing Chucks and cheap hash (KIDDING. Hugs not drugs). Just, whatever you do, don’t listen too hard for substance. In their own words: “we’re really just like everybody else, chasing that perfect pop song. And that’s not so bad right?”
If you live in New York, good for you. The Drums have multiple New York shows. Visit their website / Myspace for more info or to pre-order the Summertime! EP, available Sept. 15 (also, the band is generously offering a 5-song digital download of “Let’s Go Surfing” + remixes; the link can be accessed via Myspace). Members are: Jonathan Pierce (singin’), Jacob Graham (stringin’), Adam Kessler (twangin’), and Connor Hanwick (bangin’).
07/29/2009 22:51:06 ♥ lara (
/lara206.vox.com) ♥ wearethedrums.com ♥ myspace.com/thedrumsforever
