When only one song on a band's debut album reaches the three-minute mark, you'd better hope they're packing a solid punch. Tokyo Police Club strikes hard on Elephant Shell, cramming 11 songs into less than half an hour. And in this bloggers' age of short attention spans and even shorter buzz cycles, it's just enough. The four twentysomethings sound like British indie-poppers, but they're actually from Canada, and their affinity for sunny pop shines through in "Tessellate"'s colorful chorus, snappy drums, and skittery, sugary-sweet keys. Best are album opener "Centennial" and "Sixties Remake," a post-punk fuzz fest with guitars humming all over the riff-stuffed background.
