[This review was originally published in 2016]
Two Door Cinema Club’s third album is a disco-flavoured dish. From the opening track, with its chanting, child-like chorus, and the Nile Rogers-style guitar, the influence is evident,but never overpowering.
The Chic-style guitar continues through ‘Bad Decisions’, a blend of post-grunge anthem and seventies dance track which is hard to resist. The lyrics are more tempered than the up-tempo music, as singer Alex Trimble tries to console himself by going through the advantages of being young and surrounded by all the technological advantages of 2016 — even though he sounds less than convinced by his own argument.
The rest of the album continues this delicate balance between vintage textures and more modern alt-pop foundations.‘Ordinary’ exudes more more of an 80s New Wave flavour, while ‘Fever’ begins with plaintive guitar against a synth backdrop that feels like vintage AOR, before segueing into a more modern electronic ditty.
Other standout tracks include ‘Invincible’ which boasts some fantastic Brian May-style guitar wailing, and ‘Good Morning’, which builds a strong groove on a lyric about a person whose attempts at renewal keep leading him back to the same headspace.
Overall, Gameshow is an immensely entertaining record which pulls off the difficult trick of mixing elements of homage with solid song-craft — unlike some recent albums which attempt to hearken back to past trends, the style here is matched by substance, and musical callbacks augment the songs. This is no hollow tribute exercise, and neither is it an ungodly mess. Definitely worth a look.
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