The Drums – ‘Jonny’ album review: an electro-pop ode to the songwriter’s past selves
“When I finished Jonny,” The Drums founder and only remaining member Jonathan Pierce states, “I listened to it, and I heard my soul reflected back at me.” On his sixth studio record, Pierce invites us to sit alongside him as he flicks through a sonic photo album of his past selves, addressing each of them in turn.
From the album’s name to the raw accompanying artwork, Jonny is a record made, first and foremost, for its namesake. Upon first listen, it may seem like just another familiarly sunny indie-pop entry into the discography of The Drums, but for Pierce, the making of this record was a religious experience.
“To encapsulate one’s whole self in an album,” he stated, “to honour each and every part of you – even the parts that feel at odds with each other, is to make something deeply human, and because my religion is humanism, the album becomes a sacred place for me to worship. Each feeling a different pew, each song a hymn to the human heart.”
The stories may be delivered through the familiar playful and beachside sound that The Drums fans have come to know and love, but Jonny is far more introspective than the band’s previous nostalgic odes to surfing and love. Now, Pierce marries his characteristically sunlit guitars and jubilant synths, encapsulating the apparent joy of youth in his instrumentals with lyrics full of hurt and healing.
The album’s opening track, ‘I Want It All’, reintroduces us to that all-too-familiar world of The Drums, Pierce’s vocals just as clear and bright as ever, sitting just atop a soundtrack reminiscent of 2000s summers and teen movies. Full of longing, verses ache for tenderness and forgiveness, while his catchy choruses demonstrate those continued pop sensibilities. It’s the kind of song you can sing along to even on your first listen – a quality only The Drums have mastered.
Those sunny sounds remain throughout – ‘Be Gentle’ is a soothing indie-pop anthem for the ages. In Pierce’s harmonies and ascending vocals, the track is almost reminiscent of their surfing-obsessed Californian predecessors The Beach Boys. Elsewhere, though, Pierce deviates slightly more from the style he has spent the last 15 years honing.
On ‘I’m Still Scared’, he experiments more with electro-pop, a pulsing drum machine up against New Order-esque distorted guitars and squeaking synths. As euphoric as the accompanying instrumentals sound, Pierce’s lyrics are just as lonely as ever. “The truth is that I miss you, sometimes I cry when I think about you,” he yearns. They’re lyrics that could be applied both to a past lover or a past version of Pierce.
Perhaps the most surprising moment on the record is a feature from rapper Rico Nasty, who lends her distinctive voice to ‘Dying’. The two vocalists riff off each other amidst glistening synths, Nasty’s characteristically erotic lyricism a stark contrast to Pierce’s repeated and disheartened declarations of, “All my life, dying all my life.” Still, somehow, it works.
Amidst the classic Drums indie-pop hits, Pierce also sneaks in a series of shorter tracks which directly address his childhood self. On the fittingly titled, ‘Little Jonny’, he gently sings, “I’m never leaving your side, I’ve got your heart in my hand, I’m proud of you for all you’ve done,” over sparkling, minimal synths. The album closer, ‘I Used to Want To Die’, is equally simplistic, layering Pierce’s vocals as he repeats the words, “I used to want to die but now I don’t want to die.” It’s perhaps the closest sonically that Pierce gets to reflecting that religious experience he had while penning the record.
Upon first listening, Jonny just might pass you by as another indie offering from one of the most dependable and consistent bands in the genre. Really, it’s Pierce’s ode to his past selves disguised as digestible electropop. It’s just as sunny in sound as any of their previous releases, but it’s far more introspective and intimate. Jonny is a gentle and reflective sonic letter to Pierce’s most familiar pen pal, himself.
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