Japandroids | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The rousing Canadian indie rock duo Japandroids rose to widespread acclaim in 2009 following the release of their debut album, Post-Nothing. Working in the timeless guitar-and-drums format, Brian King and David Prowse forged a sound that was equal parts garage, punk, and classic rock & roll, touring heavily and earning a pair of Juno Award nominations both for their debut and critically acclaimed 2012 follow-up, Celebration Rock. After a lengthy touring hiatus, Japandroids returned to the stage and to the studio for 2017s more polished Near to the Wild Heart of Life. Formed in 2006 in Vancouver, British Columbia by college friends King (guitar, vocals) and Prowse (drums, vocals), they settled on a raw, no-frills approach that took influences from vintage garage and punk. Maintaining a D.I.Y. aesthetic, they produced two self-released EPs -- All Lies (2007) and Lullaby Death Jams (2008) -- before completing their full-length debut. Frustrated by their lack of success up to that point, the two friends nearly called it quits at the end of 2008 before Canadian label Unfamiliar Records took a chance on them and released Post-Nothing in the spring of 2009. An enthusiastic stamp of approval from tastemaking site Pitchfork greatly increased Japandroids exposure, and by the years end the album had been released internationally by the American indie Polyvinyl and, among other accolades, received a Juno nomination for Album of the Year. King and Prowse toured extensively over the next year, bringing their high-energy, raucous rock to stages around the world and playing major festivals like Bonnaroo, Sasquatch!, and the Pitchfork Music Festival. Returning to the studio in 2011, Japandroids emerged in the summer of 2012 with their follow-up album, Celebration Rock. Recorded in the same straightforward manner as their debut, Celebration Rock fared better both critically and commercially than its predecessor, infusing more classic rock influences into the mix, especially on the anthemic lead single, "The House That Heaven Built." Resuming their rigorous touring schedule, Japandroids notched over 200 shows in 40 countries over the next year and half. Exhausted by the nearly constant touring, King and Prowse decided to take a break at the end of 2013, and the band effectively shut down public operations for nearly three years. It was later revealed that during parts of this hiatus period, theyd been recording new material at a variety of locations from Vancouver to New Orleans to Mexico City. Re-emerging in late 2016 with a handful of live dates, Japandroids announced the release of their long-awaited third LP, Near to the Wild Heart of Life, which arrived in January 2017 via Anti- in the U.S. and Arts & Crafts in Canada. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: All Lies Released: 2007-05 Tracks: 5 Duration: 19:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Couture Suicide (04:40) 2 Avant Sleepwalk (02:36) 3 Coma Complacency (03:04) 4 To Hell With Good Intentions (03:26) 5 Press Corps (05:15) |
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: Lullaby Death Jams Released: 2008 Tracks: 5 Duration: 21:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Darkness on the Edge of Gastown (04:13) 2 No Allegiance to the Queen (04:36) 3 Sexual Aerosol (03:58) 4 Lovers/Strangers (01:46) 5 Lucifers Symphony (06:53) |
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Post-Nothing Released: 2009-04-28 Tracks: 8 Duration: 35:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Boys Are Leaving Town (04:01) 2 Young Hearts Spark Fire (05:05) 3 Wet Hair (03:12) 4 Rockers East Vancouver (04:31) 5 Heart Sweats (04:24) 6 Crazy/Forever (06:03) 7 Sovereignty (03:33) 8 I Quit Girls (04:55) |
| Post-Nothing : Allmusic album Review : For their debut, Japandroids hit the ground running on Post-Nothing, a warm flurry of fuzzy guitar, disjointed crashing drums, and childlike vocals yelled in unison by guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse. Several seasons before the album was released, "Young Hearts Spark Fire" hit the blogosphere and earned the band enough praise to secure a spot on Polyvinyl. The buzz continued with comparisons to fellow lo-fi/noise rockers No Age and Wavves, two of the hottest forerunners on the hipster art-punk scene. (Japanther is probably a closer comparison, due to their similar super-sized two-man singing style, but then again, Japandroids arent an easy band to pin down.) The lo-fi/noise rock tag is such a wide-ranging term that its a loose fit. Think of it as a triple XL that the malnourished (metaphorically speaking) musicians can only wear if they wrap up in layers and layers of distortion. Behind the 90s shoegaze overdrive and underneath all the punk rock thrashing, Japandroids songs are absolute pop in the truest sense. Theyre innocent, theyre simple, and theyre filled with blindingly good hooks. Its all thrown together with a superb sense of knowing what works. With all the fat trimmed, of the eight songs there isnt a bad track, making it difficult to choose a favorite, be it the singalong-itude of "Wet Hair" and "Young Hearts Spark Fire," the nod to Thin Lizzy with "The Boys Are Leaving Town," the fantastic bashing of "Heart Sweats," or the heartfelt sincerity of "Crazy/Forever." The lyrics arent exactly thoughtful. Mainly, theyre about girls and drinking, but theyre delivered with such passion that they seem truly earnest, even when the line involves French-kissing French girls on Bikini Island. Just before the spring fever wears off and "Sovereignty" dissipates into the teeth-rattling power ballad closer "I Quit Girls," the boys shine brightest as they shout, "Its raining in Vancouver/But I dont give a fuck, because Im alone with you tonight." It pretty much sums up the Japandroids code. They act apathetic, but theyre totally sentimental. Likewise, theyre musically proficient even though theyre sloppy as hell. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: No Singles Released: 2010-05-11 Tracks: 10 Duration: 40:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Darkness on the Edge of Gastown (04:13) 2 No Allegiance to the Queen (04:36) 3 Sexual Aerosol (03:58) 4 Lovers/Strangers (01:46) 5 Lucifers Symphony (06:53) 6 Couture Suicide (04:40) 7 Avant Sleepwalk (02:36) 8 Coma Complacency (03:04) 9 To Hell With Good Intentions (03:26) 10 Press Corps (05:15) |
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Celebration Rock Released: 2012-06-05 Tracks: 8 Duration: 35:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Nights of Wine and Roses (04:02) 2 Fire’s Highway (04:44) 3 Evil’s Sway (04:27) 4 For the Love of Ivy (04:13) 5 Adrenaline Nightshift (04:26) 6 Younger Us (03:33) 7 The House That Heaven Built (04:49) 8 Continuous Thunder (04:59) |
| Celebration Rock : Allmusic album Review : Japandroids’ Brian King and David Prowse admitted that they were at the point of breaking up just after recording Post-Nothing, when it suddenly exploded and became a critically adored sensation. Never fans of recording, the unexpected success -- largely due to Pitchfork’s promotion of the track “Young Hearts Spark Fire” -- gave the duo a chance to tour for two years and get a taste of what they considered fun, playing the music for as many people as possible. When they returned to the studio for their follow-up, they aimed for new songs that stadium crowds would feel; huge, simple shout-along anthems, with springy “whoa-oh ohs” and “oh yeahs” as hooks, sung from a drunken partier’s perspective. Hence the Andrew W.K.-ish title. Post-Nothing was similarly messy and celebratory, but Celebration Rock dumbs down the formula even more, often staying within the confines of two open chords for a full four- or five-minute song. This gives the record a constant fist-pumping drive, akin to the Gaslight Anthem or Titus Andronicus. All of the glorious innocence is still there, right down to the repeat template artwork, the same less-is-more production by Jesse Gander, and another raw, spirited, chin-first performance by the duo. With the exception of the oddly placed but well-performed cover of the Gun Clubs “For the Love of Ivy,” the songwriting is extremely straightforward. So much so that Celebration Rock could arguably lack the powerful impact of the first record. Still, it’s a hell of lot of fun, and played loud, as it should be, lines like “we’re drinking and we’re still smoking/don’t we have anything to live for? Well, of course we do” are perfect depictions of the uplifting ruckus, youthful exuberance, and sheer passion these boys deliver time and time again. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Near to the Wild Heart of Life Released: 2017-01-24 Tracks: 8 Duration: 36:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Near to the Wild Heart of Life (04:56) 2 North East South West (04:20) 3 True Love and a Free Life of Free Will (04:26) 4 Im Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner) (02:28) 5 Arc of Bar (07:25) 6 Midnight to Morning (04:44) 7 No Known Drink or Drug (03:11) 8 In a Body Like a Grave (05:15) |
| Near to the Wild Heart of Life : Allmusic album Review : Minimalist traditionalists in an era of digital indulgence, Japandroids adhere to a very specific idea of rock & roll. The Canadian duo believe rock & roll is the music of youthful liberation, distilled freedom that retains the possibility of transcendence no matter how often the promise is repeated. Japandroids essayed this thesis on Celebration Rock, the 2012 album that turned them into something of a cause célèbre in certain quarters -- namely, any old rocker waiting for a new savior -- but instead of immediately exploiting their fame, the duo took an extended hiatus, taking five years to deliver Near to the Wild Heart of Life. If the band stockpiled songs during that half decade, its impossible to tell from Near to the Wild Heart of Life because it lasts eight songs, just like the two other Japandroids albums and just like so many of the bands favorite records. Past is always present in their music, whether rose-colored memories of teenage rebellion or recycled components of classic rock and punk, which makes Near to the Wild Heart of Life an ideal soundtrack for those mourning their long-forgotten adolescence. Thats intentional: Japandroids are nothing if not earnest, the kind of sincerity endemic to teenagers ready to break free of their small town. Such big-hearted rock means that Near to the Wild Heart of Life can sometimes seem overcooked lyrically, with Japandroids working furiously to puncture their purple prose through visceral anthems. Near to the Wild Heart of Life contains a few new production flourishes, particularly a hint of synthesizers, which means that it sounds even bigger than Celebration Rock, but that shouldve been expected, too, from these students of rock & roll. Bands usually swing for the fences on their third album and thats precisely what Japandroids do here. If they remain a little constrained by their formalism -- theyre so determined to be part of a tradition they can often be swallowed by it -- its nevertheless hard not to admire their ambition. | ||