The Drums – The Drums

Can these California surf-synthesists expect a backlash? Absolutely; they look like the distilled essence of Calvin Klein model chic, their sound is so impeccably kitsch and of-the-now that they make Vampire Weekend look like a throwback from the sound that time forgot, and they’ve been set up for a fall with the 'next big thing’ albatross. But as true as each prior statement may be, it’s undeniable that the quartet’s debut – whilst at times as deep as the proverbial puddle (as found on the MTV-love-child Let’s Go Surfing) is wildly infectious in its vivid sense of carpe diem. In Down By The Water, they have a bonafide modern classic in their hands, and album closer, The Future, attains an equally wondrous satisfaction. They may well turn to vapour and disappear in the dawn of 2011; however, for now, as a guilty indulgence or otherwise, score your summer to the sound of The Drums. [Paul Neeson]