Tokyo Police Club

Following one of the most well-received 16 minutes of music in recent history (2006's A Lesson In Crime EP), Newmarket, Ontario's Tokyo Police Club confirms the release of its debut album Elephant Shell, due out April 22 on Saddle Creek (US).

Elephant Shell lands roughly a year and half after A Lesson In Crime (with last year's Smith EP and 'Your English Is Good' digi-single bridging the gap), which has sold over 30,000 copies and garnered accolades from Entertainment Weekly ('We can hardly wait for the full length' A-), Rolling Stone ('If only all young guitar bands were smart enough to rock out this fast, banging out seven first-rate mod-punk party starters in barely more than sixteen minutes'), Interview, Blender, Nylon and The New York Times among others.

Tokyo Police Club was formed in 2005 by David Monks (vocals, bass), Josh Hook (guitar), Graham Wright (keyboards), and Greg Alsop (drums). Elephant Shell is the sound of these four early-20-somethings, now seasoned by hundreds of shows from tiny clubs to the festival throngs at Coachella and Glastonbury, delivering on every bit of promise in their rapid-fire barrage of material to date. The opening one-two of 'Centennial' and 'In A Cave' barely evaporates before 'Graves' and 'Juno' pack innumerable hooks and 'what-does-that-remind-me-of' glimmers into meager 2-minute-and-change frameworks, while first single 'Tessellate' and 'Sixties Remake' encapsulate everything great about the manic TPC live experience: soaring guitar signatures and keyboard figures, driving backbeats and irresistible singalongs abound. Elsewhere, 'The Harrowing Adventures Of...' and the down-tempo standout 'Listen To The Math' find our young protagonists ably adapting their energy into more subdued structures before the rousing coda of 'The Baskervilles' brings the record to an all-too-early halt.

'Tessellate' goes to radio in early April. Meanwhile the ever-growing pack of Tokyo Police Club fans are already grabbing up the tickets to recently announced dates beginning March 18 and running up to and beyond the release of Elephant Shell. Early demand has already resulted in the addition of second and third shows in the Los Angeles and New York markets, respectively.