The Drums – How It Ended

It’s been a rough two years for The Drums. Yet, with all the hype that propelled them into the spotlight , you would be forgiven for thinking it would’ve been plain sailing for these ingenuous popsters. Indeed, it hasn’t.

They were hyped up by NME and a whole slew of hip publications at the beginning 2010, only to be shot down again after the release of their eponymous debut. Across the board, they were panned as being tedious try-hards, despite single ‘Lets Go Surfing’ enjoying heavy rotation on Radio One.

To intensify their woe, they lost a guitarist this year. Nevertheless, barely allowing the derision to die down, The Drums have returned with their second offering ‘Portamento,’ and the first single from it, ‘How It Ended.’ It’s barely a departure from their gloomy-but-surfy 1980’s shtick, and markedly the sound of a band trying to set the record straight: that they’re a deep and authentic band in their own right. Sadly, they’re not. ‘How It Ended’ drags with a been-there-done-that sense of deja vu. This time round, they sound more like The Cure, rather than The Smiths. That’s all that’s changed.

By Jamie Skey

By Jamie Skey