Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, ON, Canada. The ban… Read Full Bio ↴Tokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, ON, Canada. The band consists of Dave Monks (vocals, bass), Josh Hook (guitar, percussion), Graham Wright (keyboards, guitar, vocals) & Greg Alsop (drums, percussion).

In 2005, Tokyo Police Club started by accident one day in the ordinary suburb of Newmarket when Greg, Josh, Dave, and Graham decided that they missed playing music together, their previous band having broken up several months before. The four gathered in Josh's basement, plugging in instruments and making up songs almost at random, with no goal but to recapture the magic that they felt making music together. By the time summer came, TPC had quietly begun playing shows in the Toronto area, shows at which the very few people in attendance seemed impressed by what they saw. The band seemed likely to end here, with the various members preparing to go their separate ways in the fall, when fate intervened in the form of an invitation to play the Pop Montreal festival. Packing their instruments and girlfriends into a tiny university residence room, TPC spent a week immersed in music, spending days lazily wandering the streets of Montreal and nights rehearsing loudly in the tiniest of spaces, and topping it off in style with a sold out show that saw the band play for the first time to an audience that was actually interested. A few weeks later, all four had agreed that it was time to break their mothers' hearts and pursue that most elusive of pipe dreams: a career in the music business.

The boys got straight to business, playing a series of Toronto shows, and earning a reputation for live shows that were exuberant, lively, and unrestrained. In January, the very day that Dave returned for good from university, Tokyo Police Club signed up with esteemed Toronto label Paperbag Records to release their debut EP in Canada. In April 27, 2006, A Lesson in Crime was released in Canada and U.S (February 12, 2007, UK released), and the band spent the next months on the road, bringing their optimistic brand of wide-eyed post-pop to audiences across Canada, U.S. and Europe, and making many new friends along the way.

Responding to criticisms that A Lesson in Crime is too short (16:22), Graham Wright had this to say in an interview with Ukula: "It's very quick, quick, quick, one, two, three. Some of the songs don't have a lot of space in them and the album doesn't have a whole lot of room to breathe, but I think in the case of an EP this is a really good thing."

The Smith EP came in February 14, 2007. At a July 20, 2007 stop along the tour in Omaha, Nebraska the band announced the inking of a deal with Omaha based Saddle Creek Records during their live show at the Saddle Creek owned venue The Slowdown, to release their debut LP, entitled Elephant Shell, that was released on April, 22nd 2008 to much applause.

So what exactly is Tokyo Police Club? Perhaps EYE Weekly summed it up best when they wrote "[Tokyo Police Club] are undeniably catchy and raw, marrying danceable hooks with talk of robot masters and global emergencies, providing an upbeat soundtrack to our troubled times." Personally, however, I prefer Exclaim's proclamation that "somehow, the deeply innocuous subdivisions of Newmarket, Ontario have hatched a four-headed beast of tunefulness."

Juno
Tokyo Police Club Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I got a place in the Arctic Circle
I've got a place that I painted white
I've got a home in the salty ocean
So right, so right

All of the lions in your bedroom
All of the tigers we ignored
Pulling the wool down over your eyes

Yes sir, yes sir

You and your soapy eyes
Called it off so late at night
But your hand's on your heart
'Cause your head's always right

You and your soapy eyes
Called it off so late at night
But your hand's on your heart
'Cause your head's always right

I'm gonna go back for the science
I'm gonna stay for the decimals
No one will laugh or know the difference
Same old, same old

Fine, you were right
This wound needs ice
Fine, you were right
This wound needs ice

You and your soapy eyes
Called it off so late at night
But your hand's on your heart
'Cause your head's always right

You and your soapy eyes
Called it off so late at night
But your hand's on your heart

'Cause your head's always right
Juno, you're tired, Juno, you're tired

Overall Meaning

"Juno" by Tokyo Police Club is a song that reflects on a relationship that has fallen apart, the struggles of moving on, and the possibility of a new beginning. The lyrics describe a narrator who has multiple locations to call home, yet is still searching for something more. The Arctic Circle location seems to be a physical oasis of sorts, a place where the singer can retreat to and find some solace from the world. The salty ocean represents a metaphorical escape, a place where the singer can leave behind their mistakes and move forward.

The chorus of the song brings us back to the relationship that has failed. The lyric "You and your soapy eyes, called it off so late at night" speaks to the idea of a relationship crumbling under the weight of communication issues. The singer then goes on to say " But your hand's on your heart, 'cause your head's always right," implying that the other person's stubbornness and pride prevented them from compromising in the relationship. The song ends with the singer acknowledging their wounds and the need for healing, but ultimately feeling hopeful for the future. The repetition of "you're tired" to Juno shows understanding of the person's current state and accepting it.

Line by Line Meaning

I got a place in the Arctic Circle
I own a house in the frigid far north

I've got a place that I painted white
I painted my dwelling in a clean hue

I've got a home in the salty ocean
I have an abode in the briny sea

So right, so right
Everything is perfect

All of the lions in your bedroom
Panthera leo specimens in your sleeping quarters

All of the tigers we ignored
The disregarded ferocious felines

Pulling the wool down over your eyes
Deceiving you

Yes sir, yes sir
Affirmative

You and your soapy eyes
You with your peepers full of tears

Called it off so late at night
Terminated it during the dark hours

But your hand's on your heart
You swear you truly feel that way

'Cause your head's always right
You believe you're always right

I'm gonna go back for the science
I shall return for the research

I'm gonna stay for the decimals
I will remain for the numericals

No one will laugh or know the difference
Nobody will ridicule or notice the change

Same old, same old
Nothing new

Fine, you were right
Okay, you were correct

This wound needs ice
This laceration necessitates frozen water

Juno, you're tired, Juno, you're tired
Juno, you're weary, Juno, you're exhausted

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DAVID THOMAS MONKS, GRAHAM FRASER WRIGHT, GREGORY JARRETT ALSOP, JOSHUA G HOOK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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