Portamento

The Drums | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Frenchkiss
• ASIN: B005EKWXVU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,811 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Book Of Revelation

2. Days

3. What Your Were

4. Money

5. Hard To Love

6. I Don t Know How To Love

7. Searching For Heaven

8. Please Don t Leave

9. If He Likes It Let Him Do It

10. I Need A Doctor

11. In The Cold

12. How It Ended

Editorial Reviews

Emerging from Brooklyn via Florida in 2009, The Drums initially caught the ear of the indie world with their Summertime! EP. It was an escapist collection of beach pop fantasies; tracks suffused with a wistful, longing nostalgia that never pandered to cheap sentimentality. Their rise, particularly in the UK, was meteoric. Early buzz led to a prestigious spot on the BBC Sound of 2010 shortlist, followed in short succession by a slot on the Shockwaves NME Tour in 2009, and the publication s Phillip Hall Radar Award in early 2010, well before the album s release that summer.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime pop with post punk roots, and marvellous tunes September 8, 2011

By Storylover TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:MP3 Music

This record blasts off the player from the first notes with "Book of Revelations" a poppy, classic New Order inflected (think Peter Hook's magnificent basswork from the Low Life period). Frontman Jonathan Pierce has a melodic baritone voice capable of sweetness, longing, and a great self absorbed snarl, which he uses half ironically, half sincerely as he tries to convince his special somebody to throw caution to the wind: "I believe that when you die you die, so let me love you tonight" he suggests, and with that magical bass going on, I think that most anyone would have a hard time saying no to him. After that sublime start, there is no where to go but down. Fortunately, The Drums completely ignore my expectation and follow song after song with wonderful harmonies, insistent beats, and that voice. The third track cribs some basswork from "Rush and a Push" or "Rusholme Ruffians", classic Smiths, and backs it up with layered vocals like Brian Wilson caught in an echochamber. How does it hang together? With sheer moxie. By the time the saxophone solo comes in while Pierce sings "Hold on, hold on, I always do what you like" I am completely under his spell. "Money" is smart-alecky fun--"I want to buy you something/but I don't have any money...if I had a car/I would trade in my car...If I had a gun/I would trade in my gun" and somehow comes off as both sweet and goofy, but Pierce may overdo it a bit. Disco keyboard bass and handclaps bring us into "Hard to Love" where an insistent bass groove and a catchy (now familiar) morissey meets Brandon Flowers vocal keeps me nodding my head and singing along. So how does it end? With what may be the best song on the record "How It Ended". Pierce rachets down the whine and turns up the sincerity, and the music is at its catchiest, full of sunshine and pleasure.

This is a 5 star beach at the end of summer record, to be mixed in with your Kings of Convenience, Shout Out Louds, and Retro New Order songs in a giant mix of melancholy and sweetness. It is my record of the week, and if any of these references I have made intrigue you, it is certainly worth a spin.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Portamento by Drums January 8, 2012

By H. Rodgers

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I originally saw this group on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and liked their music. I also liked their humbleness. As they mentioned on that broadcast, they wanted to make all of their songs sound similar. They pretty much did this is the CD and I enjoy that sound.

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice followup, not quite as good as debut album April 4, 2013

By Denmark Jensen

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

Portamento continues the Drums awesome sound with several great songs. The vinyl sounds great, unfortunately the included free downloads are low quality, so it's nice to have the cd as well. It is true that Johnny's lyrics on this albums come across as more honest on this album compared to the debut, but unfortunately, as he reveals himself to be a bit of a whiner with many of the issues typically associated with those who blame others for their problems, I find it easier to enjoy his songs when he keeps things a bit more obscure or less personal, so I do like their debut album a little better. Perhaps, I hope for his sake, someday he'll get past his father/God hangups and reach a new level of emotional maturity, but in the meantime these do provide some great angst to drive the songs, most of which I am still able to enjoy (I do skip "I Need a Doctor" when listening from a digital source).

It's really too bad that the Drums don't allow keyboardist Jacob to take a greater songwriting role. Listening to the Horseshoes ep released on Shelflife reveals Jacob to be a great songwriter, though certainly not quite as good of a singer as Johnny. If you don't have them already, track down Horseshoe tracks such as "The Imperial School" and "Believing in God" to see what I am talking about.