Friday 29 May 2009



The boys are leaving town

(photo: Leigh Righton)

(photo: Leigh Righton)

I’ve been sitting on the latest release from Vancouver’s Japandroids for a while now waiting for a chance to listen to it when I figured I’d be in a suitable mood.  Their brand of fast-paced, fuzzed-out power anthem doesn’t lend itself well to relaxing evenings with a cup of tea, but I was mistaken thinking that I would somehow have to psyche myself up to listening to it.  Once on deck, Post-Nothing surprised me with it’s melodic undertow, dragging the listener into its chaotic clatter.  While they’re just a duo, Japandroids manage to sound as if there’s an army of guitars and drums behind blistering tracks like “The Boys Are Leaving Town”.  I expected something akin to DFA 1979, but instead found a band who are clearly blazing their own trail.

It goes to show young up-and-coming bands that persistence and consistency are the keys to making it.  Japandroids have been plugging away at their unique sound for a number of years, touring and playing all around the B.C. area without gaining much notice outside the Vancouver scene.  When they were invited to Montreal for Pop Montreal and then a series of dates in New York, they figured that this may be their last hurrah, figuring it would be great to have their last gig take place in New York.  Their night in Montreal changed things drastically; they met Greg Ipp, from Unfamiliar Records, who wanted to put out Post-Nothing (the band had already started releasing it independently) and get the word out on Japandroids.  From that point on, Brian King (vocals, guitars) and David Prowse (vocals, drums) had their world turned upside down.  After toiling in Vancouver for two years, there first performances outside the city lead to a record deal.  Sweet.

The eight-song Post-Nothing is one of the fastest, loudest, and most infectious albums I’ve heard in ages.  You don’t have to be in any particular mood to enjoy it, either; as long as you want to hear great music, you’ll get a kick out of Post-Nothing.

MP3: Japandroids “Young Hearts Spark Fire”
Myspace: Japandroids
Facebook: Japandroids
Buy: Japandroids Post-Nothing





by J. Di Gioia | 1 Comment »

This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 8:00 am and is filed under MP3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “The boys are leaving town”

:: quick before it melts :: June 7th, 2009 at 9:01 am

[...] (29 May 2009) “Post-Nothing surprised me with it’s melodic undertow, dragging the listener into its chaotic clatter.  While they’re just a duo, Japandroids manage to sound as if there’s an army of guitars and drums behind blistering tracks like “The Boys Are Leaving Town”.  I expected something akin to DFA 1979, but instead found a band who are clearly blazing their own trail.” [...]