The Drums - Portamento

Quite why I spent a near full price on their debut, given my typical shopping habits of even my most enduring idols (the majority of my Bowie collection are second-hand Amazon jobs), is beyond me. There was something about 2009 where my musical outlook was widening in ways that haven't before or since been replicated - and I guess I just had some spare cash that weekend. Because The Drums are hardly an act to get excited by, and as Portamento proves, they're a little bit of a one-trick pony too.

There was something charming about hearing all of these Beach Boys-cum-Joy Division anthems but strip away the lyrics and The Drums was essentially a very samey album. You could argue this against a number of bands I'm fond of - Vampire Weekend and Joy Division in particular - but their knack for tunes and atmospherics really washed away any such complaints for me. With Portamento I'm left a little uninspired.


Opening with 'Book of Revelations', they quickly tap into nihilist and atheist drones ("I believe that when we die we die") but with a signature canny tune - easily one of the album's strongest. 'Days' passes by with little irritation too, slowly bobbing in a sea of 80s romanticism and falsettos. The pace then picks up with 'What You Were', where background saxophones and a persistent echo vary things up admirably. There are times when it feels like a mashup, though; the juxtaposition of moody basslines against 80s power-pop stalwarts (the saxophone, the background coos) is unusual to say the least.

However by the time first single 'Money' begins I'm practically begging for a different rhythm structure. It's a relatively obvious choice for first single given how indifferent to change and experimentation it is, and as a fan of the debut album it was a nice reminder that they're still going - but nothing more. Like bumping into a cousin in town. There's another nice tune in 'Hard to Love', our first variation from the norm with a synthetic guitar loop standing in for their Peter Hook tribute act. The pouting is certainly convincing but other reviewers' attempts to liken them to the Smiths are laughable when faced with lyrics like "Tell me why/ when you look me in the eye/ do I feel like I want to die?"

Quite where you logically follow "you're hard to love" with 'I Don't Know How To Love' is lost on me, but I suspect the focus here was on vocal trickery and an eagerness to roll out the hooks. Not very strong ones either. A surprising turn to 90s dancehall pop is then seen in 'Searching For Heaven', where singer Pierce channels a little chunk of Matt Bellamy (although that might be the stellar instrumental backgrounds tampering with my judgment). It all crashes back to Earth disappointingly though with 'Please Don't Leave', which by now has all the emotional whining of a vomiting toddler. There are noble attempts to mysticise their sound on 'If He Likes It Let Him Do It' - "now it's winter-time and you're cold" never really captures me though.


The final three tracks are more of the same formula. Bop bop whine whine. None come more nauseatingly self-pitying though than 'In the Cold', which is almost laughably indulgent.

Just download Unknown Pleasures.

Rating: 4/10
Highlights: Book of Revelations, Searching For Heaven, Hard to Love, What You Were
Avoid: In The Cold, I Don't Know How to Love, Please Don't Leave, I Need A Doctor

Artwork Watch: The only really interesting thing about this record. Not that it means fuck all, anyway.