The Drums - “Summertime!” EP (2009) [Moshi Moshi] // Grade: B+

Kudos to The Drums for capturing what is maybe the only miss-able thing about high-school: the summers. No aspect of adulthood even touches the unfettered joy of those desperate, anchorless months when anything could, and usually did, go down (what happens on the beach stays on the beach, see: Grease). Even the heartbreak—and there was always heartbreak—seems terribly idyllic in hindsight.

Of course, teenage super-goths (hi, nice to meet you) experienced the cliche just a tad differently; instead of ponying with Frankie & Annette, we moped on scalding park benches to The Cure and Joy Division. And that’s why “Summertime!” is so immediately addictive. Though it smacks of an under the boardwalk, no-strings-attached teenage summer, it does so via melodies that are nothing but Robert Smith or Johnny Marr: “Summer Lovin’” meets “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. The carefree whistles and Beach Boy backing vocals of tracks like “Let’s Go Surfing” and “Make You Mine” mix seamlessly with hollow Fac Recs guitars, and the ghostly backing synths on an otherwise pogo-happy “Submarine” feel as out of place—and absolutely perfect—as something Martin Hannett would suggest and then insist on (probably with a gun). This Moshi Moshi reissue also features a bonus track, “I Felt Stupid” but there’s no disconnect from the six originals; the song’s John Hughes vibe gives the album a seriously triumphant ending right in line with the rest of its new-wave roots. The whole thing is a definite dichotomy, but The Drums work it to impeccable effect.

Thank god for that. Done any differently, this EP could have veered too far into goofy, stupidly pretentious Vampire Weekend territory. And honestly, The Drums run the risk of jumping that indie-pop shark on their forthcoming debut full-length anyway; this sort of beachy simplicity will only stay novel for so long (it isn’t Pet Sounds, after all) and one can’t stomach so much youthful quirkiness indefinitely. But let’s cross that bridge next year; for now, “Summertime!” stands as a really great snapshot of a time when things were enviably less complicated, heartbreak and all. And that’s worth hanging on to.