Album Review

Two Door Cinema Club - Gameshow

Name: Two Door Cinema Club - Gameshow Review
Item: Gameshow
Rating: 3
Author: Dork

Two Door have hit the jackpot on this one.

Released: 14th October 2016

Words: Dork

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Rating:

Two Door have hit the jackpot on this one.

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.

Two Door have hit the jackpot on this one.

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

Two Door Cinema Club - Gameshow

Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Gretel - Squish

Tomora - Come Closer

The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

Arlo Parks - Ambiguous Desire

Holly Humberstone - Cruel World

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe

Good Kid - Can We Hang Out Sometime?

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Gretel - Squish

Tomora - Come Closer

The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

Arlo Parks - Ambiguous Desire

Holly Humberstone - Cruel World

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe

Good Kid - Can We Hang Out Sometime?

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Gretel - Squish

Tomora - Come Closer

The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

Arlo Parks - Ambiguous Desire

Holly Humberstone - Cruel World

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe

Good Kid - Can We Hang Out Sometime?

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Gretel - Squish

Tomora - Come Closer

The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

Arlo Parks - Ambiguous Desire

Holly Humberstone - Cruel World

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe

Good Kid - Can We Hang Out Sometime?

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Gretel - Squish

Tomora - Come Closer

The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

Arlo Parks - Ambiguous Desire

Holly Humberstone - Cruel World

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe

Good Kid - Can We Hang Out Sometime?

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit

Lime Garden - Maybe Not Tonight

Gretel - Squish

Tomora - Come Closer

The Itch - It's The Hope That Kills You

Arlo Parks - Ambiguous Desire

Holly Humberstone - Cruel World

My New Band Believe - My New Band Believe

Good Kid - Can We Hang Out Sometime?

RAYE - This Music May Contain Hope

Courtney Barnett - Creature of Habit