When Two Door Cinema Club prepared to release their debut record in 2010, they did so with the scales tipped firmly in their favour. For one, a slew of infectious early singles had them pick up where Bloc Party left off when Kele Okereke lost interest in making great rock music and Alex Turner had trod into the dark, murky waters of Humbug. Meanwhile, Two Door’s tracks were perfectly-formed for inclusion on a FIFA video game soundtrack.
By mid-2010 it felt like you couldn’t go to a house party without hearing songs such as ‘I Can Talk’, ‘What You Know’ and ‘Something Good Can Work’. Even listening back to those singles today, they sound exuberant. The band was danceable, energetic and, importantly, forward-looking. They proved you could make fun, intelligent modern guitar music without sounding lo-fi or merely aping the past.
Beacon, the band’s 2012 follow up to Tourist History lacked its predecessor’s wealth of perfect indie-pop singles, but songs such as ‘Sleep Alone’ and ‘Next Year’ were worthy additions to the trio’s live set. Indeed, ‘Next Year’ carried a genuine emotional weight when the band played the midnight slot at Falls Festival that year. To explain how ubiquitous Two Door’s songs had become, consider that previous year’s headline act was a little outfit called Arctic Monkeys.
If Beacon set out to capitalise on the momentum created by the band’s quick rise, Gameshow exists in a completely different context. The band took a hiatus after the gruelling Beacon world tour. “We pretty much despised one another by the end,” frontman Alex Trimble revealed during interviews for the new record. With four years in between albums, Gameshow is very much a comeback record.
Opener ‘Are We Ready? (Wreck)’ could well be autobiographical reflection on the band’s internal ructions. “Oh, we’ve made a mistake, we’ve lost our minds, we’ve lost our memory,” Trimble sings in the chorus. Despite the child choir-led “na na na”s (think Justice’s ‘D.A.N.C.E’ via Pink Floyd), it’s also probably the most Two Door-sounding song on the album, all spiralling guitar lines and post-punk drum beat.
From track two onwards, it becomes obvious Gameshow isn’t just a comeback record, it’s an attempt by the band to re-position itself. The songs here have more in common with Daft Punk or Justin Timberlake than the indie guitar crew with which you might associate the Northern Irish trio. The disco-Daft Punk influenced ‘Bad Decisions’, with Nile Rodgers-like staccato guitar and slick pop production, is emblematic of this evolution. ‘Fever’ and The Bee Gees-lite fare ‘Je Viens De La’ follow a similar path.
Trimble hasn’t lost his ear for melody. The chorus on ‘Lavender’ is so hooky you could imagine the song being covered by Taylor Swift or even Justin Bieber, which is actually high praise these days — and handy given their new pop ambitions.
The main problem with Gameshow is that nothing feels particularly vital. The trio has traded some of its recognisable sound (one that really was thrilling in the early 2010s), for a more measured, but ultimately anonymous pop sheen. That’s something that might put them on the verge of mainstream success. It also makes Gameshow an at-times frustrating experience.
Nowhere is that than more clear than on ‘Invincible’, a song that you imagine began as a McCartney-esque piano ballad. On the record, however, each satisfying chord change and Trimble’s genuinely moving vocal melody has been cancelled out by misplaced synths, beats, and arena rock guitar squall. It’s typical of the album as whole: it feels like a missed opportunity.
Devotees will find plenty on Gameshow to enjoy, and a few pockets to truly treasure — though perhaps not quite enough to justify a four-year wait. For everyone else, when Gameshow ends you’ll probably find yourself wanting to give Tourist History a spin for the first time in a while.
6.5/10
