Two Door Cinema Club Is Worth Joining

The best way to describe the harmonies in "Beacon", the new one from County Down, Ireland's Two Door Cinema Club is to compare it's cosmic scope and breadth to one of those kaleidoscopes you may have had as a kid. That's the one where you turn it and notice colors assuming various related pleasing shapes and  color mixtures. This trio has only been around since 2007 but, if this 11-track set is any indication of their mettle I sense long life in the biz is a distinct possibility. Alex Trimble, the lead vocalist shows off a marked talent for poetry. "Someday" revisits the big picture conundrum that is "Is this journey running from or to who we will wind up being?" He conveys his own uncertainty with a winning, unaffected charm. Kevin Baird's bass handiwork bolsters the urgency of his searching. Sam Halliday proves he's no guitar lightweight. Back to the kaleidoscope comparison. In some tracks the sound is arranged with the lead guitar controlling the lion's share of the energy. Other times, "The World Is Watching" being the most laudable example, it's the three part harmonies, squeaky clean as the time tested Irish spring, that lift the songs to a gorgeous level they would not have achieved had their placement been not so strategic. There is such a thing as cluttered arrangement, something these three apparently know nothing about. They have a flair for getting potential listeners to dash with them through the panoramas of what probably is well on its way to being known as "The Two Door Cinema Club" sound. Kaleidoscope experimentation carries the day. Another way to put it would be to compare the fluid shifting of the tunes to the layer by layer intricacy of Russian nesting dolls. Layer upon layer upon layer until you hit the bedrock energy from one track to the next. Alex deserves a great deal of credit for the dazzling imagery he brings out for "Spring". Just an engaging reassertion of a classic song complaint uttered in the name of budding romance..."One more day is not enough."The old masters of the world of poetry would have approved. All of the tiers employed on this album work magnificently. Because of that it's impossible to be bored. You don't know where the bass, guitar, chorus, horn section, or drum kit will show up. It's nice to hear Two Door Cinema Club laughs at a predictable format for its art. I want to return to this club in the near future and I have a hunch you'll want to as well.