Tokyo Police Club

Formed in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada in 2005, Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band founded by high school friends Dave Monks (lead vocals / bass / guitar), Josh Hook (guitar), Graham Wright (keyboards / guitar/ vocals). After playing gaining a following with their live performances and playing the Pop Montreal festival, they signed with Paper Bag Records. The group released their debut EP, A Lesson in Crime, in 2006 and it became an unexpected hit in the UK, charting at number 4 on the Indie Single Breakers chart. In 2007, they released the Smith EP before leaving their label, signing with Saddle Creek Records and issuing their debut full-length album Elephant Shell (2008). The album reached number 10 in Canada and on the UK Indie Album Breakers chart. Signing with the Mom + Pop label, their next album, Champ (2010), fared even better in the UK, landing at number 6. The album also broke the Top 100 in the US, climbing to number 59. Their brand of edgy, indie pop continued to bring the band’s sound to a wider audience with the release of their Forcefield album in 2014. Two years later, Tokyo Police Club released the Melon Collie and the Infinite Radness: Parts One & Two EP and a collection that contained their first two EPs on one album. After a quiet time on the release front, Tokyo Police Club returned with their fourth album TPC in 2018. While the album was not as successful as their previous releases, the band’s popularity continued to grow, culminating in ‘anniversary’ reissues of the Champ (in 2020) and Elephant Shell (in 2023). Sadly, the band announced that they would be breaking up at the end of 2024 after a special farewell show in Toronto, Canada. They also released their final single, “Just a Scratch,” in March of that year. Throughout the band’s career, they were nominated for nine Juno Awards, although they never walked home with the award.