Elephant Shell
Elephant Shell is the first LP to be released by Tokyo Police Club. It was released in the United States, Canada and Australia on April 22, 2008, on Saddle Creek Records, and in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe on May 5, 2008. "In a Cave", "Juno", and "Tessellate" have been posted on the band's official MySpace.
| Elephant Shell | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 22, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | December 18, 2007 at Chemical Sound and mixed at Tarquin Studios | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, post-punk revival | |||
| Length | 28:04 | |||
| Label | Saddle Creek (North America), Memphis (Europe) | |||
| Producer | Jon Drew, Peter Katis, Chris Zane, Tokyo Police Club | |||
| Tokyo Police Club chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Elephant Shell | ||||
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The album was leaked on the internet on March 7, 2008. In response to the leak, Saddle Creek Records offered the album as a high-quality MP3 download for $9.00 on their website. The iTunes Store pre-released the album on March 25. Starting April 25, MTV Canada streamed the album free online (The Leak).
The album release party was held at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, with guests Smoosh and The Meligrove Band.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    link |
| Billboard | link |
| Robert Christgau | A−[1] |
| NME | (9/10) link |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.3/10) link |
| Rolling Stone | |
Chart performance
The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers charts in the United States, and at #10 in the Canadian album chart.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Centennial" | 1:54 |
| 2. | "In a Cave" | 2:49 |
| 3. | "Graves" | 2:36 |
| 4. | "Juno" | 2:15 |
| 5. | "Tessellate" | 2:39 |
| 6. | "Sixties Remake" | 2:05 |
| 7. | "The Harrowing Adventures Of..." | 2:51 |
| 8. | "Nursery, Academy" | 2:27 |
| 9. | "Your English Is Good" | 3:13 |
| 10. | "Listen to the Math" | 2:58 |
| 11. | "The Baskervilles" | 2:17 |
| Total length: | 28:04 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Centennial (Remix by Dntel)" | 4:37 |
| 2. | "Tessellate (Remix by Tom Campesinos!)" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Nursery, Academy (Remix by Flowers Forever)" | 2:38 |
| 4. | "Listen to the Math (Remix by The Good Life)" | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Tessellate (Remix by Field Music)" | 3:28 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Centennial (Remix by Dntel)" | 4:37 |
| 2. | "Tessellate (Remix by Tom Campesinos!)" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Nursery, Academy (Remix by Flowers Forever)" | 2:38 |
| 4. | "Listen to the Math (Remix by The Good Life)" | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Tessellate (Remix by Field Music)" | 3:28 |
| 6. | "Friends Of P" | 2:45 |
| 7. | "New New Song" | 2:04 |
| 8. | "Tessellate (Acoustic Version)" | 3:09 |
| 9. | "Graves (Acoustic Version)" | 1:58 |
Free downloads
The songs "In a Cave" and "Juno" were both released as free downloads before the actual release of the album.
Personnel
- Tokyo Police Club – songwriters, musicians, co-producers
- Greg Alsop
- Josh Hook
- Dave Monks
- Graham Wright
- Alex Aldi – additional engineering
- Greg Giorgio – additional engineering
- Dean Martino – assistant engineer
- Jay Sadlowski – assistant engineer
- Chris Zane – producer (tracks: 9)
- Jon Drew – producer (tracks: 1–6, 8, 10, 11)
- Peter Katis – mix engineer, producer (tracks: 7), additional production (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 9, 10)
- Doug Van Sloun – mastering engineer
- Jadon Ulrich – art direction
- Rich Cohen – management