This is an amazing album. Tourist History is one of the most enjoyable albums I have in my rotation. On the surface its slick and really polished indie rock that does its job really well. I read some reviews for fun on this album and was surprised to see that a lot of people seem to think this lacks depth. Now – this is pop music. However, this has more depth than the grand-majority of pop out there, whether it be through subtle build ups in the music or the simple fact that I sometimes feel emotion listening to this. This is a much more emotional album than its given credit for being, especially when things die down in the songs and certain elements temporarily get stripped back. That, combined with the occasionally melancholic vocal melodies, makes for occasional emotional moments (that work really well). I won’t go as far as saying that this is an emotionally poignant masterpiece the whole way through though, it’s not, but anyone saying this album’s crystal clear in how it is, that all it is is a fun indie album, are wrong. It’s more than that…although it is that as well. Ultimately, Tourist History is in your face. The melodies are immediate and accessible. The sounds are fine tuned to be pleasing. The sounds are really great on here, so much so that they create a genuine atmosphere of carefreeness. There’s something magical about this album. The fact that I think this is both often emotional and generally carefree speaks to how I feel Tourist History has contrasting elements. Now – every element works with its contemporary elements well in every song. What ultimately makes the whole thing work is the ingenuity of the songwriting, especially the delivery of the ideas. It’s carefree, yet emotional. It has a typical view on indie rock but does it so well and with a dash of absolute originality that makes it both stands out and much more effective than many of its contemporaries. I’ve never heard anything exactly like this, mostly because this is better. I’ve heard other music that tries to be this, but none that does it quite as well. Tourist History is really great.

What don’t I like about this album, though? Hmm… Not much, honestly. Now, I don’t think this is even near perfect as a product, so there are things I dislike about this, but I think those things are just personal preference. I’ve noticed that these songs can be repetitive foundation-wise. They’re very predictable, and hearing some of the subtle changes and differences happening throughout these songs and how care-filled they are makes me wish there was more variation with the foundations of the songs themselves. They’re fairly predictable, and surprise surprise – when there is change it always amounts to the best moment of that song. Take for example Do You Want It All? and its bass melody during its second verse. When it rises to be exact. That’s a brilliant moment. There’s also later in the song when the lead sings “all because you want to be,” with nothing but stripped back and poignant guitar work. These are two examples of the moments I’m referring to, these happenings throughout this album where everything more than works – where the sounds and the melodies create something really, really tasteful. Not to say the rest of the album isn’t, but eighty-percent of this or so makes its ambition loud and clear: energetic indie rock. It’s that twenty percent that I maybe wish had been elaborated upon more, because its clear that the writers of this album are absolutely incredible songwriters, at the least during this time-period (not all that aware of their later albums but from what I’ve heard of them they’re unimpressive).

You’re Not Stubborn is an incredible song, one of my favorites on here. It has every element I love about this album, every positive named above. The bass is great despite (or because) of its simplicity, the singing has really powerful moments, the synth which could be considered cliché sound-wise is pulled off perfectly and helps make the song more tasteful, despite the fact that at its core it sounds like something that could fit in dubstep. It’s really great, but my favorite moment above all has to be when the lead sings “the critics talk of stubbornness but you’re just passionate, you’re just passionate.” Something about the way its sung, the backing vocal that accompanies this line in particular, makes it feel like the culmination of what Tourist History is. It’s revealing and intimate, beautiful and amazing. I find it odd, really, because this album doesn’t seem like it makes any attempts at seeming this way. There’s nothing overly emotional about it, certainly aren’t any ballads or anything of the sort. This is energetic and fine tuned and this whole thing doesn’t skip a beat. It’s power-pop-esque even, as the melodies are really immediate. This is energetic, occasionally happy, but despite that happiness there’s a clear sheen of melancholy throughout this whole work, and I find that brilliant. It’s not expressly stated but it’s definitely there, as I hear it. I hear the emotion that’s conveyed through these notes. I hear the subtle build ups and the apparent care, and how this whole album feels like relief from the writer’s perspective. Honestly though, even if it didn’t have this feel throughout most of its songs I’d still love it. It does add more depth to things though.

The guitars sound phenomenal on here. Every sound does actually. It sounds incredible, and it certainly helps that the execution is spot-on. Ultimately, I don’t have much bad to say about Tourist History. In fact, I think I stated every negative the album has already. All in all it’s incredible, finely tuned indie rock that’s really catchy, loveable, and surprisingly depthful. I’d recommend this to anyone, really. Give it a shot!

8.5/10.