The Drums return with their second album, ‘Portamento’ to be released on September 12th through Moshi Moshi / Island Records. After premiering on radio 1 last night, the first single to be taken from the album ‘Money’ will be released on September 5th and is currently streaming online, listen below. The Drums have also confirmed a string of intimate London shows to preview the new material, preceded by their appearance headlining the Gaymers stage at Lovebox this Saturday.
The Drums – Money by WorkItMedia
‘Portamento’ – released just over a year since their debut – reveals a band tugging lightly at the boundaries of their sound while still retaining their recognizable sonic signatures. Sweet rushes of melody and brittle synthesizer sheens colliding with wiry Spector-esque guitar lines are still very much present, but singer, Jonny Pierce’s lyrics have assumed a deeper, personal tone and coupled with the band’s own more expansive production, ‘Portamento’ is a more complex, but ultimately more rewarding listen than their debut.
Emerging from Brooklyn via Florida in 2010, The Drums initially caught the ear of the indie world with their ‘Summertime!’ EP – an escapist collection of beach pop fantasies – which preceded their self-titled debut album, released in June 2010. ‘The Drums’ has gone on to sell 200,000 albums world-wide, reflecting the universal appeal of a band that toured the globe: playing everywhere from Japan, Chile, Indonesia, Australia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Europe, a six week US tour and culminating in the UK with two sold-out nights at The Forum, London.
The band sidestepped the pitfalls of the often ‘difficult second album’ by recording it quickly, often laying down tracks spontaneously in Pierce’s kitchen. Following the departure of guitarist Adam Kessler, drummer Connor Hanwick switched to guitar, and guitarist Jacob Graham picked up his more natural instrument of synthesizers.
Of the LP’s almost autobiographical lyrical contents, Pierce says, “This new album touches on everything from my extreme religious roots to transgenderism to violence, and of course there’s plenty of heartbreak stuff, which I couldn’t get away from even if I tried.”
To accommodate the record’s sonic expansiveness, the band has swollen to a quintet live, augmented by two auxiliary members including good friend Myles Matheny on guitar and bass. Also gone are the backing tracks used for the bulk of their live shows to date, thus lending their performances a more visceral, spontaneous feel, in line with the aesthetic of the new album.
Portamento is a 17th century Italian term that denotes a vocal slide between two pitches. For Pierce, it takes on an additional, personal meaning: “Jacob and I meeting as young boys with a shared love for Kraftwerk, Anything Box and Wendy Carlos – these were all synth pioneers, and a common feature on old analog systems was ‘Portamento.’ It dictates the travel time from one note to another, and we have always thought it was a beautiful word. It seems to come in to play with how we have transitioned in the last year, losing a guitarist, reforming the band, our personal lives, and the actual sound of the album travelling from one thing to the next.”
Portamento tracklisting: Book Of Revelation / Days / What You Were / Money / Hard To Love / I Don’t Know How To Love / Searching For Heaven / Please Don’t Leave / If He Likes It Let Him Do It / I Need A Doctor / In The Cold / How It Ended
And artwork:
The Drums play the following live shows:
July 16 Lovebox Festival London
Sept 05 London Hoxton Bar & Kitchen
Sept 06 London Lexington
Sept 07 London XOYO
Sept 08 Bestival Isle of Wight
Sept 17 SPLIT Festival Sunderland
