At heart, Two Door Cinema Club make pop songs.
Sure, second album 'Beacon' might contain orchestral flourishes and moments of daring ambition but deep down the Northern Irish band have a pop heart. Take upcoming single 'Next Year' - crisp production, tight drums and jet propelled guitar lines, it's a lean, mean melodic machine.
With Two Door Cinema Club mid way through a sold out nationwide tour, ClashMusic asked Kevin Baird to handle our singles column. Here's what he had to say...
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Pure Love - Beach of Diamonds
Beach of Diamonds is much more of a pop song than I expected it to be. This isn't exactly a bad thing but it doesn't quite wreak of the creativity that oozed out of a Gallows record. It's a well formulated pop song with some pretty power pop production. Solid track.
Emeli Sande - Clown
It sounds like this is Emeli Sande's, "I'm struggling with fame" song. The video seems to be all about her not compromising and not 'selling out'. Sorry Emeli, but it's painfully unbelievable. You can't release a song with lyrics like 'if only the money was flowing in' and have a video where you are resisting 'the man' figures in uniforms after that advert you did for HTC. It can't be said that her appearing in the advert, qualifying the buying of the new HTC phone because it carries Beats Audio software, is wrong, but it makes the tone of her new single 'The Clown' hugely unbelievable.
Tyler James - Worry About You
This is a good song. It's not ground breaking. The production is great and the song follows a great pop formula. The melodies are strong and the chorus chords really work. It's nice to hear an out and out pop song that musically doesn't sound like a rip off of Diplo.
Eric Prydz - Everyday
The track starts off really strongly. It's got a really nice groove. Although I would of loved a little more progression in the track. The track is a little over 4 and a half minutes long and by the third minute you've almost lost hope that the same synth line that started the track and has leaded it up to that point might start to take a secondary role. This doesn't quite happen but a breakdown section definitely provides some respite. This is a big melodic club track and that's what Eric Prydz does best.
The Computers - Disco Sucks
Disco Sucks is a good song. The guitar definitely propels the track forward with a pretty cool fuzzy riff. The vocals have a very Hives-esque style especially in the verses but the change in style in the chorus lets The Computers get away with it.
Thumpers - Dancing's Done
I think the production is fantastic in this track. There's never a dull moment. The guitars, synths and vocals all create this wall of sound which is so powerful. Then add that amazing beat and you have a banger.
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'Next Year' is set to be released on February 18th.