japanandroids near to the wild heart of life japandroids near to the wild heart of life

Even its surrendered closer, “Continuous Thunder”, gives passion to measured expectations: “Oh, and if I had all the answers / And you had the body you wanted / Would we love with a legendary fire?” It’s a rare moment of apprehension in an album that’s full of go-for-broke, living-in-the-moment maximalism. (Japandroids never made anything as spotty as Pablo Honey.) With an expanded lyrical palette that was capital “R” Romantic, Celebration Rock was full of music which had the intensity of a life and death struggle and an optimistic spirit that made the listener feel like anything is possible. It’s the band’s Great Leap Forward - like from Bleach to Nevermind or The Bends to OK Computer. Still, Post-Nothing was no warning for their second album, Celebration Rock - a virtual highlight reel of classic rock tics, gorged on blood, sweat, and beers. Japandroids certainly did not break any new ground on the album, but they the played with rare passion and real physical exertion. Their worldview was beautifully summed up in the band’s first epic, “Young Hearts Spark Fire”, which featured the beautiful refrain of: “I don’t wanna worry about dying / I just wanna worry about those sunshine girls.” Post-Nothing is a knowing title. Their debut album Post-Nothing was powerfully lo-fi, featuring a rigid two-instrument-two-voice delivery system that knocked twee songs into the upper decks with the fury of a hardcore band.

The Canadian rock duo Japandroids have always been equal parts precious and precocious.

Japanandroids near to the wild heart of life japandroids near to the wild heart of life