The Drums are one bass line away from being a boy band. They’re boy band -shaped popstars for the indie-pop crowd, as evidenced by their aesthetically ruffled haircuts and too-cool-chic attire. In fact, they pretty much were a boy band once, if you count their Elkland misdemeanour past, but they’re also purveyors of none-more catchy indie-pop gems, which they bring to their headline show at the Roundhouse and a special acoustic breakfast show this Thursday.
The band take to the stage of the Roundhouse for a headline gig as part of the NME’s Awards Show, and then follow things up on Thursday morning with an acoustic set at Floridita with the New York Bakery Breakfast Club, though The Drums have assured us that acoustic doesn’t mean laid-back.
“We’ve never done stools,” lead singer Johnny Pierce tells us. “I think we will try and make it a party, so we will be on our feet here.”
Their self-titled debut was the soundtrack to the summer of 2010, and follow-up Portamento, recorded quickly and following suit from its forebear rather than adopting a radically new sound or direction, kept the momentum going and matches it for sheer unbridled sugary-pop perfection.
Their fandom in the UK far outstrips the fervour for the Brooklynites back home in the States – “kids in the UK are much more ‘on the pulse’ than the rest of the world” Pierce explains nonchalantly, simutaneously praising both his band and UK music fans – making these shows a homecoming gig in many ways.
Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8EH & Floridita, 100 Wardour St, W1F 0TN
Feb 27 & Mar 1 | Doors 7pm & 8am | £16.60 & FREE
Stations: Chalk Farm & Oxford Circus
See: www.roundhouse.org.uk; thedrums@breakfastbagels.com
