The Drums
Encyclopedia
The Drums are an American indie pop
band
from Brooklyn, NY with members stemming from the shortlived band Elkland (formerly Goat Explosion). The band is currently on the Moshi Moshi/Island
(UK), Universal (AU) and Frenchkiss (US) labels
.
The two separated for several years: Pierce formed indie pop group Elkland which quickly gained attention and was signed by Columbia Records
; meanwhile, Graham formed 'Horse Shoes' which was signed by Shelflife Records
. Eventually, having both grown tired of electronic music, they decided to switch from synthesizers to guitars, and formed The Drums in 2008 in Kissimee, Florida. They then moved to Brooklyn, New York in spring 2009, wherein they 'hired on' drummer Connor Hanwick and guitarist Adam Kessler and had their first gig all within a week of arriving in Brooklyn.
' s December '09/January '10 issue. The article featured an exclusive interview by Executive Editor Miguel Ángel Jimenez and drummer Connor Hanwick. In NME
' s first issue of 2010 they were named number 1 in the magazine's top tips for the year as well as in Clash Magazines Tips for 2010. The Drums were also voted "Best Hope for 2010" in Pitchfork Media
's 2009 Readers' Poll.
In February 2010, the band played venues around the UK on the 2010 NME Awards Tour
alongside The Maccabees
, Bombay Bicycle Club
and The Big Pink
, going on to play support band for Florence and the Machine
's 2010 Cosmic Love tour. In June 2010 they played as one of the support bands for Kings of Leon
in Hyde Park, London
.
On May 7, 2010, they appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
where they performed "Best Friend". On September 16, 2010, it was announced on the band's Facebook page and website that guitarist Adam Kessler had left the band.
After the disaster in Japan, the Drums released the single "The New World" on April 11, 2011. On May 5, 2011, it was reported by the NME that The Drums had expanded their live line-up to include Chris Stein and Myles Matheny (of Violens). In June 2011 drummer Danny Lee Allen (We Are Scientists
, Youth Group
) joined the band, replacing Chris Stein.
The Drums released their second album Portamento
, on September 5, 2011. They also revealed that they almost split at the end of June due to stylistic disagreements.
, The Smiths
, Joy Division
/New Order
, The Tough Alliance
, The Legends
, The Shangri-las
, The Embassy
and Orange Juice
.
Graham also mentions that reverb in general has played a major role in their sound: "...If reverb didn't exist we wouldn't have bothered trying to start a band."
}
| 107
| rowspan="2"|Summertime! EP
|-
| scope="row"| "I Felt Stupid / Down By The Water"
| –
|-
| rowspan="4"|2010
| scope="row"| "Best Friend"
| 110
| rowspan="4"|The Drums
|-
| scope="row"| "Forever and Ever, Amen"
| 182
|-
| scope="row"| "Let's Go Surfing / Don't Be A Jerk Johnny"
| 63
|-
| scope="row"| "Me and the Moon"
| –
|-
| rowspan="2"|2011
| scope="row"| "The New World"
| –
| Non-album single
|-
| scope="row"| "Money"
| –
| Portamento
|}
Notes: – The tracks "Let's Go Surfing" and "Down By The Water" were later added to The Drums
. – Only the track "Let's Go Surfing" received chart placement.
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
from Brooklyn, NY with members stemming from the shortlived band Elkland (formerly Goat Explosion). The band is currently on the Moshi Moshi/Island
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
(UK), Universal (AU) and Frenchkiss (US) labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Formation
Founding members Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham first became friends as children, having met at a summer camp. Soon after their first meeting they formed the electro-pop group Goat Explosion, touring in North America.The two separated for several years: Pierce formed indie pop group Elkland which quickly gained attention and was signed by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
; meanwhile, Graham formed 'Horse Shoes' which was signed by Shelflife Records
Shelflife Records
Shelflife Records is a Portland and San Francisco based independent record label run by Ed Mazzucco and Matthew Bice and has produced such bands as Days, Acid House Kings, and The Radio Dept.- History :...
. Eventually, having both grown tired of electronic music, they decided to switch from synthesizers to guitars, and formed The Drums in 2008 in Kissimee, Florida. They then moved to Brooklyn, New York in spring 2009, wherein they 'hired on' drummer Connor Hanwick and guitarist Adam Kessler and had their first gig all within a week of arriving in Brooklyn.
Career
In December 2009, the band were shortlisted as one of the 15 music acts for the BBC Sound of 2010. Subsequently, they placed at #5 in this list on 4 January 2010. The Drums also appeared in Cliché MagazineCliché Magazine
Cliché Magazine is a digital magazine, based in Los Angeles, that covers such topics as fashion, music, culture, and entertainment. The publication is released monthly, in virtual formats only.-Basic information:...
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's 2009 Readers' Poll.
In February 2010, the band played venues around the UK on the 2010 NME Awards Tour
NME Tours
The NME Tours consist of a variety of tours organised by British music industry publication NME. Throughout the year, NME sponsors numerous tours of the United Kingdom by various up-and-coming and established bands in a variety of formats...
alongside The Maccabees
The Maccabees
The Maccabees are a indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In in 2007, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4 May 2009...
, Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club are a British indie rock and folk band from Crouch End, London. The band comprises: Jack Steadman , Jamie MacColl , Ed Nash and Suren de Saram ....
and The Big Pink
The Big Pink
The Big Pink is an English electro-rock duo comprising multi-instrumentalists Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell. The duo signed to the 4AD label in 2009, and won the prestigious NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act...
, going on to play support band for Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...
's 2010 Cosmic Love tour. In June 2010 they played as one of the support bands for Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion, Oklahoma but formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill , Ivan Nathan Followill and Michael Jared Followill Kings of Leon is an American rock band that originated in Albion,...
in Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
.
On May 7, 2010, they appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
where they performed "Best Friend". On September 16, 2010, it was announced on the band's Facebook page and website that guitarist Adam Kessler had left the band.
After the disaster in Japan, the Drums released the single "The New World" on April 11, 2011. On May 5, 2011, it was reported by the NME that The Drums had expanded their live line-up to include Chris Stein and Myles Matheny (of Violens). In June 2011 drummer Danny Lee Allen (We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York-based indie rock band that formed in Berkeley, California in 2000. Originally formed of Keith Murray on drums, Chris Cain playing bass guitar and Scott Lamb providing vocals and guitar, before Michael Tapper became drummer and Keith became vocalist and guitarist...
, Youth Group
Youth Group
Youth Group are a rock band based in Newtown, Sydney, Australia signed to Ivy League Records.- Biography :Youth Group formed in Sydney in the late 1990s. They have released four albums in Australia, with the three most recent albums also gaining releases worldwide...
) joined the band, replacing Chris Stein.
The Drums released their second album Portamento
Portamento (album)
Portamento is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Drums. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2011 through Moshi Moshi and Island Records and was preceded by the release of lead single "Money" on 19 August....
, on September 5, 2011. They also revealed that they almost split at the end of June due to stylistic disagreements.
Influences
The band cite their major influences as The WakeThe Wake (band)
The Wake were a British post punk and later indie pop band, founded in Glasgow in 1981 by Gerard "Caesar" McInulty , Steven Allen and Joe Donnelly, who was later replaced by Bobby Gillespie...
, The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
/New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, The Tough Alliance
The Tough Alliance
The Tough Alliance, or TTA, was an electronic pop music duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. The duo first came together in 2003 and consists of childhood friends Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund...
, The Legends
The Legends
The Legends are a Swedish pop band, distributed by Lakeshore Records in the US, by Labrador Records in Sweden and by Little Teddy Recordings in Germany....
, The Shangri-las
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
, The Embassy
The Embassy (band)
The Embassy is a Swedish electropop group consisting of Fredrik Lindson and Torbjörn Håkansson . The Embassy is currently signed to Service Records and Look Records.-Tacking :...
and Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
.
Graham also mentions that reverb in general has played a major role in their sound: "...If reverb didn't exist we wouldn't have bothered trying to start a band."
Studio Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
IRL Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
AUS |
|||
| 2010 | The Drums The Drums (album) The Drums is the eponymous debut studio album by American indie pop band The Drums, it was released June 7, 2010, on Moshi Moshi and Island Records...
|
16 | 29 | 52 |
British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... : Silver |
| 2011 | Portamento Portamento (album) Portamento is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Drums. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 2 September 2011 through Moshi Moshi and Island Records and was preceded by the release of lead single "Money" on 19 August.... Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , Digital Download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
44 | 59 | 61 | |
Extended plays
| Year | Album | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Summertime! Summertime! Summertime! is an EP released by American indie pop band The Drums in 2009 on the Moshi Moshi record label.Two of the tracks from the EP, "Let's Go Surfing" and "Down By the Water" later appeared on the band's debut album The Drums, released in 2010....
|
193 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
| 2009 |
| 107
| rowspan="2"|Summertime! EP
|-
| scope="row"| "I Felt Stupid / Down By The Water"
| –
|-
| rowspan="4"|2010
| scope="row"| "Best Friend"
| 110
| rowspan="4"|The Drums
|-
| scope="row"| "Forever and Ever, Amen"
| 182
|-
| scope="row"| "Let's Go Surfing / Don't Be A Jerk Johnny"
| 63
|-
| scope="row"| "Me and the Moon"
| –
|-
| rowspan="2"|2011
| scope="row"| "The New World"
| –
| Non-album single
|-
| scope="row"| "Money"
| –
| Portamento
|}
Guest appearances
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 2011 | "In Your Eyes" (Edwyn Collins Edwyn Collins Edwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice... featuring The Drums) |
– | Losing Sleep Losing Sleep (Edwyn Collins album) Losing Sleep is the seventh solo album by the Scottish singer/songwriter Edwyn Collins, released 13 September 2010 on Heavenly Records.The album was recorded at Collins' West Heath Studios and features guest appearances from Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, Aztec Camera's Roddy... |
Notes: – The tracks "Let's Go Surfing" and "Down By The Water" were later added to The Drums
The Drums (album)
The Drums is the eponymous debut studio album by American indie pop band The Drums, it was released June 7, 2010, on Moshi Moshi and Island Records...
. – Only the track "Let's Go Surfing" received chart placement.
Music videos
| Year | Month | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | August | "Let's Go Surfing" | David Fishel |
| 2010 | January | "I Felt Stupid" | Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch |
| March | "Best Friend" | The Drums | |
| May | "Forever and Ever, Amen" | Surround and The Drums | |
| August | "Down by the Water" | Surround and The Drums | |
| October | "Me and the Moon" | Surround and The Drums | |
| 2011 | July | "Money" | M Blash |
| October | "How It Ended" | Patrick Roberts |