After a four year break, Two Door Cinema Club is back with Gameshow, their third album. Having faced some difficulties after and during their tour for Beacon in 2012, the band has straightened itself out and has gotten together to make some (surprisingly disco-y) music.
The first track, “Are We Ready (Wreck),” is our introduction to their newer sound, which is mainly lots of synth, energetic beats, and great lyrics. The lead vocalist, Alex Trimble, is not nearly as present in this album as he was in Beacon and Tourist History with the exception of “Are We Ready (Wreck)” and “Good Morning.” I thought that certain songs, such as “Bad Decisions,” would have benefited from his voice being a bit more present. But the band is definitely pushing their new beats to the forefront, and they do a good job.
We hear quite a few new sounds in Gameshow; for example, in the track “Gameshow,” there’s a bit of screaming and screeching and the like, but mostly they’ve amped up the synth (see: “Surgery”) and added a bit more presence in the guitar (check out “Gasoline”), giving us cool, interesting melodies and background beats. It reminded me quite a bit of the 80s, especially “Fever” and “Je Viens de La,” but as a huge fan of the 80s, I’m not complaining. My personal opinion is that the second half of the album is much better than the first, which I find doesn’t happen very often. I was almost finished listening to the album and had decided that I liked it, but then I got to “Sucker” and was super impressed. Now I’ve decided that I really liked it.
Gameshow offers a nice variety in the way of sounds and speeds. Although it is overwhelmingly disco as a whole, there are a couple of (I’m going to describe them as ballads) ballads alongside a couple of songs that really remind you of their old stuff (like “Good Morning”) that work together and round out the album. And of course, their lyrics continue to be a highlight of their music.
Photos from Two Door Cinema Club facebook page
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