Tokyo Police Club | |
|---|---|
 Tokyo Police Club performing atHistory in 2024. From left to right: Josh Hook, David Monks, Greg Alsop, Graham Wright | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Newmarket, Ontario,Canada |
| Genres | Indie rock,post-punk revival,alternative rock |
| Years active | 2005–2024 |
| Labels | Universal Music Canada Paper Bag Memphis Industries Saddle Creek Dew Process Mom + Pop Music Dine Alone Records (Canada) |
| Past members | David Monks Graham Wright Josh Hook Greg Alsop |
| Website | tokyopoliceclub.com |
Tokyo Police Club was anindie rock band fromNewmarket,Ontario,Canada. Founded in 2005, it consisted ofvocalist andbassist Dave Monks,keyboardist Graham Wright,guitarist Josh Hook, anddrummer Greg Alsop.[1] The band found early success with their 2006 debut EPA Lesson in Crime, which they followed with several popular releases including the albumsElephant Shell andChamp in 2008 and 2010, respectively. During the 2010s, they released three other studio albums. Among other nominations, the band had been twice nominated for theJuno Award for Alternative Album of the Year, in 2011 forChamp and in 2019 forTPC.
They disbanded at the end of November 2024 following a final tour.
David Monks (born January 21, 1987), Graham Wright (born February 16, 1987), Josh Hook (born May 11, 1987), and Greg Alsop (born March 20, 1985) grew up and attended school together in Newmarket, Ontario.[1][2] In high school, the four played in a band calledSuburbia which eventually disbanded. In 2004, the group informally came together again to form Tokyo Police Club;[3] the name of the band comes from a 2000s-era online Band Name Generator.[2]
Early on, the band played some small shows in the Toronto area. Tokyo Police Club were asked to play in thePop Montreal festival,[4] and soon after they signed with Toronto labelPaper Bag Records; Monks and Alsop dropped out of college to become professional musicians.[5]
The band released its debutEP,A Lesson in Crime, in 2006 onPaper Bag Records. The recording was less than seventeen minutes long, and some of the songs were quite short.[6] That year they appeared atEdgefest and the inauguralOsheaga Festival.
TheSmith EP was released in 2007. During a July show inOmaha,Nebraska, the band signed a deal withSaddle Creek Records which would release their debut LP.[7] The single "Your English Is Good" was released in July and later included on their albumElephant Shell.[8] That year the band performed atCoachella,Lollapalooza,Bumbershoot, theGlastonbury Festival, and theReading and Leeds Festival.
In 2008, Tokyo Police Club released their first album,Elephant Shell,[9] first via the USiTunes Store on March 25, 2008, and then on their new label Saddle Creek in April in North America, and in May in the U.K. and Continental Europe via Memphis Industries.[10] In the same year, the band played theRoskilde Festival, theRock am Ring-Festival, andStreet Scene. In the fall, they played on the last six weeks ofWeezer's Troublemaker Tour along withAngels and Airwaves.
In 2010, the band played theBonnaroo Music Festival. They also played at San Francisco's 2010Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. Their second full-length album,Champ, was released in June; it was produced byRob Schnapf.[11] That fall the album appeared on the !Earshot National Top 50 Chart.[12]
On March 27, 2011, Tokyo Police Club performed their single "Bambi" at the 40th Juno Awards in Toronto. In June, the video for "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" was nominated as best indie video of the year byMuchMusic. The video was directed by Mike Juneau and Kyle McCreight, and produced byJesse Ewles and Chris Cunningham. In 2011, the band also released10 Days. 10 Covers. 10 Years., a project in which they recorded and released a new cover song from each of the previous 10 years, from 2001 to 2010.
In December 2011, the band performed an unreleased song "Beaches" at a live show. In 2012, they joinedFoster the People on the North American portion of theirTorches tour along withKimbra. While continuing to work with the band, Wright also hosted programming onCBC Radio 3.[citation needed]
After a prolific period, the band was relatively quiet from late 2012 until December 2013, when the band debuted a nine-minutelyric video for "Argentina (Pts. I, II, and III)" on YouTube.[13] Both "Beaches" and "Argentina" are on their albumForcefield which was released March 24, 2014. In July the band performed at the 2014 Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta. The band also recorded two songs for theDaytrotter Sessions, which were released online.[14]
In 2016, the band released theirMelon Collie and the Infinite Radness project, consisting of two companions EPs titledPart One andPart Two. The two were later combined and formally released as a full length LP of the same name. The EPs celebrated a more spontaneous recording ethos, similar to their early albums. With this same celebratory nature, the band also released an expanded tenth anniversary edition ofA Lesson in Crime that year.
Tokyo Police Club continued to record in 2018 in preparation for a fourth album.[15] They releasedTPC on October 5, 2018 and received a Juno nomination for Alternative Album of the Year.[16] A companion EP titledTPC DLX was released in October 2020, made up of tracks from theTPC recording sessions and acoustic versions of songs.[17]
In December 2020, the band announced that they would be releasing a special tenth anniversary edition of their albumChamp, slated for release in March 2021. With this announcement, the band released the single "Hundred Dollar Day."[18]
In March 2023, the band announced that they would be releasing a special fifteenth anniversary edition of their debut albumElephant Shell, slated for release on 5 May 2023.[19]
On January 23, 2024, the band announced their disbandment. They performed their final four shows atHistory in Toronto in November 2024.[20] Prior to their final performances, the band released their final single, "Just A Scratch" / "Catch Me If You Can", on March 12 that year.[21][22]
On April 19, 2007, Tokyo Police Club made their first US television performance on theLate Show with David Letterman. They played their single "Nature of the Experiment", along with a tambourine accompaniment by theCBS Orchestra. A year later the band made a second appearance on theLate Show, performing the lead single "Tessellate" off their debut LPElephant Shell.
On November 16, 2008, they appeared on the television showDesperate Housewives in the episode "City on Fire" as "Cold Splash", a band competing in a battle-of-the-bands contest. They performed "In A Cave" from their albumElephant Shell. A month later they played "Your English is Good" onThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on CBS. On June 28, 2010, they made their third appearance on theLate Show with David Letterman, performing the single "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" off of their second album,Champ.
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | MTVu Woodie Awards | Best Emerging Artist | Tokyo Police Club | Nominated | [23] |
| 2007 | MuchMusic Video Awards | Best Independent Video | "Cheer It On" | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Juno Awards | Video of the Year | "Cheer It On" | Nominated | [24] |
| 2009 | Juno Awards | Group of the Year | Tokyo Police Club | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Juno Awards | Alternative Album of the Year | Champ | Nominated | |
| 2011 | MuchMusic Video Awards | Indie Video of the Year | "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" | Nominated | |
| 2014 | MuchMusic Video Awards | Rock/Alternative Video of the Year | "Hot Tonight" | Nominated | |
| Post-Production of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2019 | Juno Awards | Alternative Album of the Year | TPC | Nominated | [24] |
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