Released:
Rating:
Two Door have hit the jackpot on this one.
Label: Parlophone
Released: October 14th 2016
Rating: ★★★★
Back in 2012, Two Door Cinema Club were every 16 year old’s favourite band. Spiky indie guitars, pogoing choruses and a non-stop thrill ride of a live show meant that they were festival favourites even at the festivals they weren’t playing. If anything, they fitted the indie band box to a tee, but clinging on to that thrill ride had its consequences. After years of self-evaluation, personal demons and even questioning what band they really were, Two Door have come back and flung that box wide open – and what has come out is nothing short of dazzling.
‘Gameshow’ is a record that doesn’t hold any boundaries, a stream of extravagance and outlandish sounds that come together into a record that’s sure of itself and knows it’s fucking good. Guiding through synth-laden disco highs, it’s in the strutting swagger of ‘Bad Decisions’, the cocktail-croon of ‘Ordinary’ and the effortless energy of ‘Fever’ – a palpable sense of the shackles being thrown off in favour of unabashed pop perfection.
Even then, there are moments which when written down should never work, but take on a new life when delivered with such freedom. ‘Invincible’ hits like a long-lost Kylie & Jason anthem, drenched in neon thrills and a guitar solo built to be played on top of a mountain. ‘Je Viens De La’ is prime Justice-styled Parisian electro that just rises and rises at each chorus, whilst the title track itself is the most ferocious the Bangor trio have ever sounded with an almost Foals-esque intensity aimed squarely at the technology driven generation of instant gratification.
‘Gameshow’ is an uncompromising and thrilling statement from Two Door Cinema Club. Urgent and vital for 2016, it’s a record that lives and breathes in its own sphere and revels in the confidence of a band revitalised and gearing for stadiums. It never was a gamble that’s for sure, Two Door have hit the jackpot on this one. Jamie Muir
