The album opens with crashing drums to pull you in immediately, keeping you hooked, unable to tear your ears away. Graham Wright bumps in, “Operator, get me the president of the world, this is an emergency” keeping up the tension. Then the rest soon join in with stomping bass and squealing lead guitar. The album then ensues, keeping one feeling like they are reminiscing on the past, yet also looking forward to the future. Racking up a short length time of 16 minutes and 22 seconds, this short album leaves you only wanting more Tokyo Police Club in your life.

     This album does something really well that many artists struggle to do, and that’s add layers that add to the song in a way that is productive. Such as the lead lines, they come in and add to the song rather than just filling a spot because the guitarist wanted to fiddle around. They add backup vocals as a way to add more energy, which is something many people need to get back in the habit of as well when writing songs. My favorite part of a song is their rhythm section, which if I do any more reviews, you will see quite obvious, but this album, it has a godly rhythm section. Putting the bass far forward into the mix as well as pseudo-complicated drum parts that are not hidden behind the guitar shown well in songs such as “Nature of the Experiment,” just makes this album shoot up my list on it’s own. The lyrics also, while not complicated are good, at least in my eyes, such as the track “Cheer It On” with the lyrics “Do your neighbor a favor/collect the morning paper/collect all the sad bits, no one wants to read that/let them take their kids to school and the zoo in peace” which, with the large amount of scary and panicked news in our life, is a nice sentiment that they somehow fit in the song, even if the lyrics read out seem a tad odd.

     The only issues I have with this album are some of the productions on the highs the highs are high, and feel like they are attacking my ears every now and then, which is fine in moderation, but can get annoying, and if not for the contrasting low bass, would ruin some of the songs for me. 

     Regardless of the critique, I highly suggest giving the album “A Lesson in Crime” by Tokyo Police Club, giving it a score of 8.5/10 microchips. (The rating object being a reference to the song “Citizens of Tomorrow” from the album).