Band members Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar), Sam Halliday (lead guitar), and Kevin Baird (bass) work without the services of a devoted drummer, but that absence isnвЂ™t felt on Gameshow. ItвЂ™s dance rock that doesnвЂ™t skimp on the beats but also has some heft to it. The Irish three-piece took their time to craft a confectionary gem with Gameshow. When you listen, tap your foot and bob your head, but, most importantly, open your ears to the albumвЂ™s sonic beauty.Fire Note Says: Try not to dance to the newest from Two Door Cinema Club.ДЄlbum Review: ItвЂ™s taken Two Door Cinema Club four years to release their third full-length album. With Beacon, Two Door Cinema Club makes the transition from an interesting band to a damn good one. When Alex Trimble sings, вЂњThough/IвЂ™m far away/ I know IвЂ™ll stay, I know IвЂ™ll stay/ right there with you,вЂќ his passion comes through, unmitigated by other melodies. Most importantly, the melody of the chorus is forefront. вЂњSunвЂќ contains a variety of sounds, from distorted guitar licks to uplifting horns. The song вЂњSunвЂќ epitomizes the difference between Beacon and Tourist History. Beacon manages its spotlight extremely effectively, which helps it better showcase each bandmateвЂ™s talent. When the whole stage is lit up, the individual performances cannot be dramatized as effectively as when each performer has his/her own spotlight. This change of sound is analogous to the notion of a spotlight. While the choruses of Beacon feature guitars, the hierarchy is very apparent the vocals are the foreground and the guitar is the background. Beacon separates out these sounds more effectively, adding punch to the solos and bringing all of the emphasis to a single melody. Although this overdose of sound is fun at first, the vocals and guitar ultimately detract from each other. In the chorus of вЂњ What You Know,вЂќ the biggest hit off Tourist History, an electric guitar solo plays simultaneously with the vocal melody. One of the issues with Tourist History is that the melodic focus is often hard to find. While Tourist History garnered popularity because of the creativity and originality of its sound, Beacon will get acclaim for its excellent songwriting. However, what ultimately makes Beacon such a good album is not the sound, but the quality of the songs. The blotches of dark sound are a boon to Beacon they enable the upbeat music to shine even brighter. The juxtaposition of these two tones creates an amazing dichotomy, the heavy guitar riffs seem even heavier, and the chorus has an even more surreal feel. вЂњSomedayвЂќ is another head banger it features a bridge with a guitar riff reminiscent of The Black Keys, and then plunges into a chorus of tinkly guitars, similar to the bandвЂ™s traditional sound. As a result, вЂњWake UpвЂќ sounds more like rock and roll than any of the songs off Tourist History.

The track soon transitions into bluesy guitar lines, and even when the quintessential high guitar licks come in, they are distorted. The song вЂњ Wake UpвЂќ opens up with a funky bass lick that continues throughout the first verse, backing Alex TrimbleвЂ™s smooth vocals. These deeper sounds create a counter-balance for Two Door Cinema ClubвЂ™s otherwise bright, cheery music. Additionally, many of the guitar riffs are played in a lower octave. Two Door Cinema Club accomplishes this sound through featuring the bass guitar much more heavily. Before Beacon, a dark Two Door Cinema Club was an oxymoron now it is a fortunate pairing. However, the light-hearted, giddy sound is missing, replaced by one thatвЂ™s deeper and more complex. The fast upper-fret riffs are back, as well as the Ben Gibbard-esque vocals. Stylistically, not all that much has changed with Two Door Cinema Club. Luckily, they did a little bit of both, creating a follow up just as impressive as Tourist History that avoids the sophomore slump. Instead, they would have to take a different route to keep their music fresh: either alter their sound or improve their songwriting. When Two Door Cinema wrote Beacon, they did not have the option of merely honing their sound, as there was not much to hone.

Unlike most rookie bands whose albums sound like a hodgepodge of ideas, Two Door Cinema Club already had a cohesive, perfected sound. Tourist History was an extremely hard album to live up to.

Two door cinema club albums