(04.01.2015)
Tokio Hotel – Kings of Suburbia
Tokio Hotel is a German band that I’ve been a fan of since about two years before their second English release. They pop in and out of the limelight, but always put out music that seems to be a few years ahead of its time. Their newest album, Kings of Suburbia, unsurprisingly falls into that definition: an album that is far more pop than alternative. With every listen, it’s clear that this group has been spending the years since their previous release refining a sound that is absolutely, unmistakably Tokio Hotel.
Continuing in the same synth-laden thread as Humanoid, Tokio Hotel has refined their pop sensibilities into an album that pushes the limits of what previous fans may enjoy, but also allows them to engage with a whole new group of fans that were previously inaccessible. In doing this, it demonstrates their tremendous amounts of growth; this is not the same band I listened to when I was 13, but a band that I really enjoy listening to at 18. It pushes the boundaries of what’s popular on American alternative stations, bringing a whole new international spin to the band’s success.
Vocalist Bill Kaulitz’s voice is at its prime in upbeat tracks such as lead single “Love Who Loves You Back.” The track has a beat that belongs in a club but could easily have a sold out room bouncing on their toes. One of the top requested singles on KROQ recently, it’s very much Neon Trees meets Cobra Starship and exactly as infectious as that mix sounds.
“Covered in Gold,” the fifth track, is the perfect segue into “Girl’s Got A Gun,” my absolute favorite off the album. With an incredibly infectious chorus, the track is perfect for just about any situation- it’s a song to use in car commercials and liquor commercials and everything in between. There is no way it can be faulted for anything but its repetitive nature (which is definitely part of it’s charm). Plus, the music video might be the strangest thing anyone could watch today. You have to see it to believe it.
“Kings of Suburbia,” the eponymous track, is the most similar to Tokio Hotel’s previous work lyrically. In contrast with other songs, the construction of the song itself seems to outweigh the focus of the lyrical content, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing here because they make it work. This factor is reminiscent of Kaulitz’s earlier work, but slightly more refined as a result of the frontman’s age and increased exposure to the world. “We Found Us” is a track that sounds too much like Rihanna’s “We Found Love” to have much real weight on the album other than to act as a fun filler.
The ninth track on the album, “Invaded,” revisits the piano introduced in an earlier track, “Run Run Run,” and seems to be about a mournful aftermath of a break up; it focuses on the realization of how much someone can work their way into their significant other’s life and how weird it can be to go back to what used to be ‘normal.’ “Never Let You Down” is essentially lackluster for me, repetitive in the wrong way musically and in lyrical structure. “Louder Than Love” blends into “Masquerade,” a song reminiscent of another (now defunct) pop-alt German group Cinema Bizarre from a few years back, but with a stronger rock influence and keys that would match up perfectly with a laser show live.
The final track, “Great Day” seems like a letter penned by Kaulitz and is the strongest choice to close this album. The music is a perfect blend of 2008’s Scream and their new, more mature sound and I can’t nitpick a single fault out of it.
Tokio Hotel hasn’t released the same album twice in a row. They’ve jumped from pure alternative rock to extreme pop; it’s easy for anyone to understand that they’re constantly learning, adjusting, and refining their sound to be commercially successful while staying true to the band’s vision. Although Kings Of Suburbia has a few too many tracks that don’t appeal to me, I’m curious if their live counterparts are more engaging than their recorded versions. Ultimately, Tokio Hotel are a brilliant example of a band that regularly push the constraints of what’s popular right now (and what’s about to be popular) to see if they can create something people connect with. Their constant reinvention keeps them fresh and exciting and fans like me beyond excited to see what they create in the coming years.