“When the band first emerged in 2006 full of startlingly brief songs and an ace EP, it appeared a second act might have been tough for Tokyo Police Club. Luckily, the songs on “Elephant Shell” are a sensible progression from the Strokes-like hooks of earlier material, showing an increasing sophistication. As with before, the brilliance is in the brevity. Even on a 28-minute album, the band does manage to shift gears, such as on “The Harrowing Adventures Of?,” with its strings, xylophone melody and lyrical hook of “two wrongs make him right.” The hook-and-hand-clap-laden “Tessellate” and opener “Centennial” also thrill, but with an album this brief, it’s hard not to walk away wanting more.—Robert Thompson”
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