Tokyo Police Club - Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness (Part One) (2016)

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Tokyo Police Club’s critically acclaimed debut EP, A Lesson in Crime. The Newmarket band has come a long way since that first release. It has released three studio albums, one more EP and will now celebrate a decade-long run with two more EPs, wittily titled Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness, Part 1 & 2 (a pun on the Smashing Pumpkins’ seminal 1995 album). Fans can stream Part 1 in advance of its April 8 release now on the player above.

While Tokyo Police Club has maintained its penchant for penning great guitar-driven pop anthems, Melon Collie shows myriad evolutions when placed next to the band's EP 10 years ago. Songs take their time to unfold now, developing layers of build-up that ultimately pay off with a stellar guitar solo or epic chant. Lead single “Not My Girl” is a prime example of such, with thundering guitars and revved-up rhythms all culminating in an explosive finale.

Another change in the band is that its four members — Dave Monks, Graham Wright, Josh Hook and Greg Alsop — have migrated from their hometown to other cities. In a press release, Alsop explains how this affected the writing and recording process for these new pair of EPs: “We all live in different places now, so a week in New York was our first attempt at experimenting with what happens if we all fly in to be in the same place and decide to work on music together.”

Monks adds that it was “more just capturing the moment and being ourselves. It was this spontaneous feeling of, ‘These songs are rad, let’s put them out.’” That new approach has clearly yielded some exciting new music and, yes, these songs are indeed pretty rad.