Released under Frenchkiss Records on January 28 of this year, Drowners consists of twelve tracks that are less than three minutes long each. Every piece has something similar to offer; lyrics about love and heavy guitars with catchy leads, which categorises the band into the indie pop/rock genre. The record opens with an off-the-bat catchy tune "Ways to Phrase a Rejection" that exercises the same palette as Morrissey and The Strokes but poppier (is that a word?), and this applies to almost every song while some have a Los Campesinos! edge to it with the addition of a xylophone in numbers like "Luv, Hold Me Down" and "Watch You Change". Time passes by quickly when you're listening to Drowners as each song melds with one another, compiling these short tracks into a 29-minute long track instead. This may be a downside to most people because a monochrome album can be quite boring. But coming from a person who takes a long time to get into an album, a few days is relatively quick. The only release this year that's done that was Bombay Bicycle Club's So Long, See You Tomorrow (read my thoughts on it here). Although there's nothing new about their sound - it's been done before - they manage to keep listeners entertained. Hitt's vocals are surprisingly strong, the guitars are solid, the bass complements the rhythm well although some more grooves would've been nice, and the upbeat drums works well with the mood wanted to be set.
Thus, Drowners would be a good album for those who are interested in peaking into the indie pop/rock world. The short and concise songs make this album easy to listen to although it may seem bland over time. For that, I'd give this album a 3.5/5.
