Tokyo Police Club - Forcefield (2014)

If you ve ever read a comic book, watched a science fiction movie, played freeze tag, or undertaken a top-secret intergalactic space mission, then you know all about the value of a good force field. Tokyo Police Club surely do, and in the four years since the band s last album, our brave heroes from Toronto spent several long winters and many manic nights in their own fortress of solitude, learning to deflect that which would do them harm or lead them astray and to respect and to trust those they knew best: each other.

The eight tracks of Forcefield sound like the Tokyo Police Club you know and love but somehow manage to reach a little higher into the rafters. The genuine spirit in the catchy choruses of lead single Hot Tonight and Toy Guns reflects the anthemic music that all four bandmates were inspired by while recording, and Miserable features a concert-ready refrain sure to infuse crowds of all sizes. This is a watertight sound that only a band of best friends could make, a band who after ten years of playing music together and over a decade and a half of friendship wrapped themselves up in a force field and gave it their all, realizing who they are in the process as well as what their songs bring to their audience and to each other.

We became aware that the objective on the songs was to relate, says Monks. It wasn t about being cathartic or poetic or shrouded in mystery, it was just to be super open. I ve done that lyrically and we ve done that musically as a band; we ve been more forgiving to these songs and let them just be the kind of songs they are and not tried to make them flow with the trends. We re stoked on this record we think it s the best record on the planet right now.