Tessellate

TESSELLATE is the second single from Tokyo Police Club's 2008 album, ELEPHANT SHELL, and it is bundled here with a remix of the same by Tom from Los Campesinos! A definite standout track, "Tessellate," is a boiling down of the band's infectious recipe. There's the insuppressible energy that's crucial but hard to define, and then the more obvious charms: bright chiming guitars, agile, never-gauche keys, and singer/bassist Dave Monks's crisply enunciated, lyrical melodies. His lyrics are fragments that come together to form a mosaic of youthful optimism in the face of uncertainty. Tom Campesinos, realizing he can't match his source for quick pop thrills, abstracts it, strips it down, and even adds palm mute chugging and bombastic "In the Air Tonight" drums.