Tokyo Police Club: A Lesson In Crime (Paper Bag Records)

This Toronto four-piece has been touched by the hand of the indie rock godhead. Just last week Tokyo Police Club’s A Lesson in Crime EP earned a sturdy 7.9 out of 10 rating at notoriously tough-grading online tastemaker Pitchfork. That kind of review can catapult an unknown band up from the underground almost instantly to an adoring global audience. If you don’t believe me just ask Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah or Tapes and Tapes. So Tokyo Police Club can thank the Internet if they go big. They just might, too. The band pulls off this strong collection of fresh, bristly rock that boasts smarts, nerve and spiky, concise songs that generally stay well, well below the three-minute mark. Tokyo Police Club glue their compositions of punky spirit and sparked pop with witty composure and the kind of abstractions that add to (instead of take away from) the overall feel. They’re fun but they’re also smart. Handclaps are everywhere supplementing drummer Greg Alsop’s amiable backbeat. Singer/bassist Dave Monk sings of waltzing out of the room in his detached tenor on “Be Good” while Graham Wright’s keyboard drone leads “Citizens of Tomorrow” before Josh Hook’s searing guitar tears in halfway through. TPC pull together for a thoroughly unique sound while still catching the ear of anyone who has ever tapped a foot to the Strokes, thought too much about Isaac Brock’s yowled verses or asked, “Who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys?”

Tokyo Police Club performs this Tuesday, August 22 at Mohawk Place with

The Anti-Q’s and Czech Mates.