The Drums have a schtick, and they do it well. At the Black Cat Sunday night, bass lines were steady, sliding up and down. The guitars (they switched between a single guitar and a two guitar lineup) darted, repeating single notes and then expanding to notes close by, sometimes lingering, sometimes flitting quickly.
Instrumentally, their sound borrows from the more guitar-oriented songs of the New Order, with some of the vocal melodrama of The Cure. Drums pounded at a constant and rapid pace throughout, there were mild touches of synths, and a whole lot of harmonized “oohs” and “aahs,” especially at the end of songs, where the band tended to “ooh” and “aah” until they stopped on a dime. It all worked—the crowd was dancing and swinging and swaying and generally trying their best to mimic the antics of lead singer Jonathan Pierce.
Pierce is an entrancing front man, a good asset for a band whose members mainly just stare at their instruments (except for the keyboard player, who makes hand gestures as if conducting a symphony when he is not playing, which is quite strange). Pierce lilted to one side then the other, like he couldn’t decide which he liked better. He tapped his feet and bounced from one to the other as if preparing to pounce on something unseen. He whipped his arms a la Ian Curtis—in strange, herky-jerky motions. He grooved with salsa hips, waved the microphone to transcribe huge patterns in the air in front of him, held up his right hand, or played furious air drums. All eyes were on him.
The Drums played some of their older songs, as well as songs from their new album, Portamento. Played live, the Portamento songs gained more force. They felt more urgent, catchier, less self-interested. The older songs are better—“Me And The Moon” is heartbreaking, propulsive, and hilarious all at once, and Pierce slurred his way through “I Felt So Stupid,” applying just the right amount of heft at the end, where he stretches heart into 7 syllables, singing “ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-heart.” He’s dead serious, and you feel for him, but you also sense that he might be playing a subtle joke there.
It can be hard to distinguish one Drums song from another as they speed by you, and several sound like they have almost identical basslines. But throughout a live performance, you find yourself imitating Pierce, stretching out your hips, bobbing your head. Look around, and everyone else is doing that too. Before you know it, you’re “oohing” and “aahing,” and you head home pleased with the power of pop music.
