Top 10 Best Two Door Cinema Club Songs

It perplexes me that Two Door Cinema Club are one of my most listened-to bands. They usually deliver very solid alternative music, and have spanned a few subgenres in their career, but only released one truly great album in my opinion. Over a decade has passed and this band have over 50 songs in their discography and, having recently released their fourth album False Alarm (yes I still need to review it), I am ready to lay down my absolute favourite tracks from this Northern-Irish once-indie-rock group. Here are my Top Ten Favourite Two Door Cinema Club songs...

Honourable Mentions

HM

"Are We Ready (Wreck)"

Gameshow

2016

The lead single to their "comeback" album Gameshow, it perfectly demonstrates the more minimalistic and R&B influenced sounds found on that album. The synth-bass is incredible, the lyrics are woke and the chorus is infectious and yet it isn't overwhelming or particularly confrontational, which is the magic that carries on throughout the rest of their fantastic album.

HM

"You Are Not Stubborn"

Tourist History

2010

The closer to their debut, "You Are Not Stubborn" is in many ways the antithesis to "Are We Ready". Lyrically, it is one of the band's most upfront and confrontational, vigorously chanting its anthemic chorus and never stepping off the accelerator. It's definitely a shame that this is so underrated in the band's discography, and I wish that this had been released as a single after "What You Know" as I'm sure it could have eclipsed the fame of the former.

HM

"Standing On Ghosts"

Four Words To Stand On (EP)

2008

Sonically, this is a very different beast from its successors, and is perhaps the band's most raw and under-produced song, but that doesn't stop the energy and enthusiasm that characterised Two Door's early material from shining through such an undeniably potent demo recording. Fans adore this song for just how essential it was to the band developing their sound, and for how far removed they are now. I love this song because of those reasons and how ecstatic I become when listening, and how interesting it is to hear in retrospective.

HM

"Sun"

Beacon

2012

At the time of this song's release it was far and away their safest and most pop-leaning, but none of that matters because of how effective they are at commanding emotion and passion, particularly with the tremendous riffing, Alex's emotive vocals and the emphatic brass section. Everything in this song just fits together, and I wish it could have seen a lengthier chart run if the radio had resumed playing it after that Christmas ended.

HM

"Surgery"

Gameshow

2016

  The final honourable mention and potentially the closest to making the list proper, this is quite an explosive cut and one that fires on all cylinders musically and lyrically, something I find the band all too often has difficulty balancing. From the opening synth stabs, you're greeted to a dark and sinister track rearing to be set free and, about halfway through, it is.

10

"Talk"

False Alarm

2019

It may be predictable that I put this on, after all surely it's only here to fulfil some sort of representation for their newest album, and it was the lead single so this critic can't have particularly strong integrity? Yeah, no. "Talk" has earned its place on this list as easily the band's most strange single and an ambitious and has surpassed "Are We Ready" in all ways. The beat is quintessential, the flares and sparkles of synths necessary and far more than just complementary. The lyrics can seem nonsensical and irrelevant but I can assure you that this is a smart and aware commentary on the music industry, Two Door's place within it and it is the boldest and bravest they have ever been. Rejoice, because this single signifies the return of the king.

9

"Someday"

Beacon

2012

Beacon may technically be the band's most commercially successful album, but I'd argue a good handful of the tracks remain overlooked and this is sadly one of them. Guitar flourishes and an exceptional groove let this stand out from the pack, those guitars really showing off in a way the band do less and less frequently nowadays. The bass too is at its most distinguished here compared to how frustratingly muffled it can be elsewhere on Beacon. Interestingly enough this song is something that has only truly grabbed me in the last few months as I've been re-listening to their discography, but I am thrilled that it did. Also, this couldn't go without saying, the major crescendo and instrumental on the back half of this song is phenomenal.

8

"Dirty Air"

False Alarm

2019

Okay, spoilers, this is the best song from False Alarm and that album features many problems and definitely less standouts, but to be fair it could well grow on me over time. As of now, though, this is deserving of being this high in my rankings. Alex Trimble has often described himself as being at odds with the world around him, and this song is one that sees him observing as "the sky is falling", but finally feels at ease with being so separated because "whatever happens the pleasure is mine". Aside from the lyrics, this is a musically aggressive song with a riveting pre-chorus and exceptional rhythms unmatched on False Alarm, but wonderfully at home among its less successful peers. I've heard people draw comparisons to Franz Ferdinand, and in an odd disjointed way I see some similarities there.

7

"Kids"

Tourist History (Bonus Track)

2010

The sort of unknown banger that I seem prone to gravitating towards, this has got to be one of their most outright fun and energetic performances that evaded my attention for the longest time, notwithstanding my knowledge of its existence. All in all, this is something I listen to numerously and rivals almost all the other songs on their debut, leaving me certain it should have been included in the standard version. Elements of this song puzzle me, possibly most notably the absence of prominent synthetic elements that the rest of Tourist History was filled with, and if anything the barrage of guitars that emerge triumphantly towards the end of the song hold their own without the need of support or atmospherics to carry it.

6
"Lavender"
Gameshow
2016

I mean this song seems to fizz and spark with electricity, showcasing just how potent a minimalistic Two Door Cinema Club can be. Utilising an infectious, steady drumbeat and building up the layers to an epic climax seems to be a recipe for success with this band (more on that later), and when the synthesizer lets loose near the end the payoff is so rewarding. This allowed it to become an instant favourite of mine, and I've been playing it frequently since its release as a single in early 2017. Perhaps more than any other track, "Lavender"'s upward trajectory has an anthemic but unusual feel, something that makes you dance and gives you chills. I think that's why I gravitate towards it. Gravity is losing it's hold...

5
"Ordinary"
Gameshow
2016

Hands down, this is one of the best written and most compelling songs the band have ever penned, a spectacular venture into 80s balladry and funk rock that comes across as beautifully sincere and lacking the cheese so often served in excess with this sort of song. Critics picked up on this one and, whilst I don't really care what they say, it is an instance where I am proud of the praise. The appeal of this tune stretches further than the lyrics, however well-wrote they are, because instrumentally and vocally the performances here are near-flawless. There is character here that so much of Beacon lacked, and it's great to hear the emotion in the vocals as much as it is to hear the earnest and passionate guitar solos. A fine piece of music.

4
"Undercover Martyn"
Tourist History
2010

I mean this is just fun - perfectly quirky indie pop that's as much driven by the danceable drum beat as it is the guitars. The writing is about as nonsensical as you can get but they sound great and it's pretty engaging regardless; it's a song I don't tire of hearing and I'm in awe of how much love it continues to receive to this day. It's no secret that I love the very blocky and often over-clustered production style common in the more synthetic jams on their debut album, and for me this is the best in this style that the band offers. It's a true classic, but it's rough charm doesn't quite land it in the top three.

3

"Wake Up"
Beacon
2012

In many ways, Beacon has shrunk on me as an album. I find it to be a period in the band's career in which the writing was at its weakest and the instrumentals rarely felt like they had the purpose or the drive in order to carry them to the energetic levels of the debut, nor did they boast the complexities and detail of the followup Gameshow. At the same time, certain songs only seem to grow on me and "Wake Up" is one of those. The band let loose here on a rather triumphant track that not only packs the double punch of excellent guitar solos and bass but manages to let me really feel the impact of the song. It isn't going for lyrical weight but it comes across as so much more potent than most of the other tracks, due to how joyous the vibe is. It grooves, it doesn't get scared of its own momentum and it honestly kind of explodes in the last section - the guitars sound rather thin but they're giving it their all.

2

"Gameshow"
Gameshow
2016

This is the song I relate to the most from Two Door Cinema Club but, bias aside, it is pretty awesome even without it's very insightful lyrics. Firstly, that bassline absolutely rocks. It carries the whole song, setting the tone from the first note - absolutely the most earwormy bassline the band have conceived. It's funny, because this song doesn't really "expode" and it's also definitely not within the realm of controlled minimalism or 80s synthpop that the band excel at, in fact it stands alone as quite a unique moment in their discography and is a song I've had on repeat for the best part of three years now. I can't get enough and I'd be surprised if you can resist it.

1

"Eat That Up, It's Good For You"
Tourist History
2010

So...my favourite song in their discography. It is, in many respects, an intense and emotional track but not in the sense of a ballad because it has one of the loudest crescendos they've ever done and it feels somewhat perfect. No, it isn't their most emotional or even their most personal but I think it might just be the song that works best for who they were as a band at the time of Tourist History, the epitome of what I want from early Two Door Cinema Club. You bet the lyrics are witty, in a youthful yet wise sense, just as Alex Trimble often is. The instrumentation seems perfectly balanced, partially contrasting some of the other songs from this time period of the band. It sounds more organic and natural, not because of "real instruments" or anything because I don't care about that, this song just physically sounds more raw and honest and I respect that. I love it.