Tokyo Police Club

by Heather Phares
Toronto's quirky, high-energy indie rockers Tokyo Police Club feature vocalist/bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist/vocalist Graham Wright, guitarist/percussionist Josh Hook, and drummer/percussionist Greg Alsop. The band formed in the wake of the breakup of the foursome's previous project; after a few months of not making music together, they regrouped as Tokyo Police Club in 2005. They began performing live that summer, and that fall they played the Montreal Pop Festival, where the group's rousing reception convinced them to make Tokyo Police Club a full-time venture. Monks quit school, and early in 2006 the band signed with local label Paperbag Records and began recording their debut EP, A Lesson in Crime, which was released that spring. Buoyed by blog and MySpace buzz, Tokyo Police Club embarked on their largest tour yet that fall. Around the same time, A Lesson in Crime was re-released with wider distribution, and 2008 saw the release of the band's full-length debut, Elephant Shell.