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The Drums (album)

(Redirected from Book of Stories)

The Drums is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Drums. It was released June 7, 2010, on Moshi Moshi and Island Records. The album contains the singles "Let's Go Surfing," "Best Friend," "Me and the Moon" and "Forever and Ever, Amen" as well as "Down By The Water," which had previously been released as part of the band's Summertime! EP.

The Drums
The cover consists of wooden block letters spelling out the band's name on a wooden floor, with a blue curtain behind them.
Studio album by
the Drums
ReleasedJune 7, 2010
RecordedNew York
GenreIndie rock, indie pop, post-punk revival, new wave, surf rock
Length43:15
LabelMoshi Moshi/Island
ProducerJonathan Pierce
The Drums chronology
Summertime! EP
(2009) 		The Drums
(2010) 		Portamento
(2011)
Singles from The Drums
  1. "Best Friend"
    Released: March 28, 2010
  2. "Me and the Moon"
    Released: May 31, 2010
  3. "Let's Go Surfing (reissue)"
    Released: August 12, 2010
  4. "Forever and Ever, Amen"
    Released: December 12, 2010

Recording

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The album was recorded in Jacob Graham's apartment in Florida, the band's apartment in New York City, and in a shack in Woodstock, New York.

Reception

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Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.0/10[1]
Metacritic73/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The Guardian     [4]
The Independent     [5]
Mojo     [6]
NME8/10[7]
Pitchfork7.5/10[8]
Q     [9]
Rolling Stone     [10]
Spin8/10[11]
The Times     [12]

The album has had positive reviews. Jamie Fullerton of NME said, "The Drums have proved... there's still a hurricane of heartsore life in guitar pop." It also highlighted "Book of Stories," "Down by the Water" and "Skippin' Town" as particularly good tracks.[7] BBC music critic Si Hawkins noted how the band utilizes influences from the Manchester music scene (Morrisey, Phil Spector, Peter Hook) for its tracks and encapsulate them through lyrics reminiscent of John Hughes films, saying they "skillfully conjure[s] a time long before credit crunches, when the most important thing in the world was your current squeeze."[13] Q gave the album 4 stars, saying that "The Drums provide its steadiest beat in years" when referring to the album's impact on the indie music genre.[9] Paul Neeson from The Skinny said of the record, "whilst at times as deep as the proverbial puddle is wildly infectious in its vivid sense of carpe diem," concluding that "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."[14]

Andy Gill of The Independent praised the band's new wave-inspired musicianship and Pierce's vocal performance but was wary of their "brittle artifice" and "disingenuous innocence" throughout the track listing, concluding that "they probably needn't worry about coming up with enough material for That Difficult Second Album; but next time, they might try polishing the songs a bit more."[5] The Guardian's Dorian Lynskey admired the band for attempting to recapture the innocence of 80s indie music but criticized their musical charm for being spread thin and coming across as a formulaic imitation, concluding that "the Drums confuse sincerity with banality, and sweetness with sap, and end up recalling a less flattering label from alternative music's faltering adolescence: indie schmindie."[4] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone commended the band's concept of post-Ian Curtis New Order making Beach Boys songs, highlighting "Best Friend" for bringing "genuine gloom" to the proceedings, but felt "the forlorn-bubblegum formula feels vapid stretched over an album."[10]

Singles

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  • The first single to be released from the album was "Best Friend," which was released on March 29, 2010. The single found success in the UK, where it charted at number 110.
  • The second single to be released from the album was "Me and the Moon," which was released on May 31, 2010. The single acted as the second promotion for the album, which was released a week later on June 7.
  • The third single to be released from the album was "Let's Go Surfing," which was released on August 12, 2010. Having originally peaked at number 107 upon initial release in September 2009, the reissue lead to the single peaking at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart, marking the band's most successful single to date.
  • The fourth single to be released from the album is "Forever and Ever, Amen," which was released on December 12, 2010.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Jonny Pierce, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Best Friend" (Jonny Pierce, Jacob Graham)3:26
2."Me and the Moon" (Pierce, Graham)3:12
3."Let's Go Surfing"2:56
4."Book of Stories"3:38
5."Skippin' Town"3:22
6."Forever and Ever, Amen" (Pierce, Graham)4:24
7."Down by the Water"3:33
8."It Will All End in Tears"3:44
9."We Tried"3:45
10."I Need Fun in My Life"3:27
11."I'll Never Drop My Sword"3:43
12."The Future" (Pierce, Connor Hanwick)4:09
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."When I Come Home" (Bonus Track)3:41
14."Best Friend" (Music Video)3:33

Personnel

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Adapted credits from the media notes of The Drums.[15]

Charts

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Charts (2011) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 29
Belgium (Ultratop)[16] 44
Norway (Norwegian Albums Chart)[16] 30
France (French Albums Chart)[16] 100
UK (The Official Charts Company)[16] 19
US (Billboard Top Heatseekers)[17] 17

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "The Drums by The Drums reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  2. ^ "Reviews for The Drums by The Drums". Metacritic. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Phares, Heather. "The Drums – The Drums". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Lynskey, Dorian (May 27, 2010). "The Drums: The Drums". The Guardian. London. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Gill, Andy (June 4, 2010). "Album: The Drums, The Drums (Moshi Moshi/Island)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Drums: The Drums". Mojo (200): 94. July 2010.
  7. ^ a b Fullerton, Jamie (June 7, 2010). "Album review: The Drums – 'The Drums' (Moshi Moshi)". NME. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  8. ^ Berman, Stuart (June 8, 2010). "The Drums: The Drums". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  9. ^ a b "The Drums: The Drums". Q (288): 134. July 2010.
  10. ^ a b Dolan, Jon (September 14, 2010). "The Drums: The Drums". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  11. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (August 23, 2010). "The Drums, 'The Drums' (Downtown)". Spin. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  12. ^ "The Drums: The Drums". The Times. London. May 28, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  13. ^ Hawkins, Si. "Review of The Drums - The Drums". BBC. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  14. ^ Neeson, Paul (June 1, 2010). "The Drums – The Drums". The Skinny. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  15. ^ The Drums (media notes). The Drums. Moshi Moshi. Island. 2010. 2736909.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ a b c d e "The Drums - Albums Chart". αCharts.
  17. ^ "The Drums - Charts and Awards". AllMusic.
  18. ^ "British album certifications – Drums – The Drums". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
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