The Drums, a band only consisting of Jonny Pierce and no one else, has been on a hot streak for a while now. I first heard about them in 2014 when Encyclopedia dropped. I don’t remember how, but I heard the song Magic Mountain and instantly fell in love. I had never heard anything like it before. The way it starts off so mysterious with those claps then that fucking guitar riff comes in and Jonny’s unique voice hits you also!? Fuck. Then, you think the song is over and it comes back with that infectious chant?! Dude, I melt every time I hear it. So I was instantly a fan after that. Now here we are in 2020 and The Drums dropped Brutalism in 2019. This is coming late because I had to sit on this album for a minute. For some reason when it comes to The Drums it takes me a minute to digest new shit, but finally here we are.

First off, Pretty Cloud starts off so weirdly. So weird that I thought I’d hate it forever. Because I definitely did not like it when I first heard it. “My pretty cloud in the sky, I’m watching you from afar.” Those are the first words you hear and then this synth (?) comes in and it sounds like an 80’s song. But when all of the other elements come in on top of it, oh boy it’s fire. Then, we lose almost all momentum when we get to Body Chemistry. This is actually the song that made me not excited about this album. It was the first single and I was so excited to hear some new music and then we got this…I know I’m a hater, but I legit cannot stand how happy this song sounds. It’s the same way I feel about Drill Sergeant by NERD. That song is way too upbeat, but I can tough through it because Preservation is at the end of it. With this song though? There’s no redemption and you can skip it and the album is just as good, if not better. Right after this is 626 Bedford Avenue and the album is hit after hit for the rest of the duration.

This album has songs for whatever mood you’re in, but the lyrics are all about love. Whether it be falling in/out or being in it currently. Jonny has a way of writing and singing that you feel that shit man. Especially on Nervous, holy shit. Just reading the lyrics is enough to almost make a tear come to my eye. “Two nights ago we said goodbye, In a borrowed car in the Hollywood hills I held you, but I should have held you tighter and longer, Two years of laughter and one year of pain, Come crashing to a halt to its final resting place.” Dude…that’s masterful storytelling in a short span of time. I Wanna Go Back also gives that same affect, but its instrumental is more upbeat so it kinda takes your mind off how sad the lyrics are. This song is all about wanting to go back to the good days before you’re significant other hurt you in a major way and can’t take their side of the blame, but just listening to it it’s easy to get swept up in how beautiful this song is.

This album would be perfect if instead of Body Chemistry Jonny put Try on here instead. That song is way better and would fit perfectly after I Wanna Go Back, so fuck it. Counting that song this album is 9 solid songs and it makes me excited to see where Jonny goes next. Hopefully he can continue this hot streak that’s been going on for almost six years now.

Listen to Brutalism Here

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