Tokyo Police Club songs are often examples of master craftsmanship: compact pop-rock with sturdy melodies and chiseled arrangements that emphasize the endearing edge of David Monks' vocals. That said, they aren't the sort of things that sound like they need three and a half years worth of test driving and trouble shooting, so it was difficult to be optimistic about the state of the band as the continuing silence that followed 2010's excellent Champ grew. Now, Tokyo Police Club have finally returned with "Argentina (Parts I II, III)", a nearly nine-minute triptych—more than double the runtime of the longest TPC song.

Easy with the Mars Volta comparisons, though: it's still a nearly nine-minute Tokyo Police Club song, which means everything you've come to expect from them, only more of it. Monks spins literate (but not "literary") lyrics about a twenty-something crush and her sister, the chorus is clever without being a joke, and it maintains momentum throughout even with the segues and tempo changes, as Tokyo Police Club remain one of the few guitar-based indie rock bands that can pen danceable songs that pop without overtly and desperately trying to be "dance-pop." You typically expect a nine-minute lead single to drop your jaw, but "Argentina (Parts I, II, III)" triggers nine minutes of content grins instead and feels no less ambitious for its efforts. 

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