Yet on their third, Japandroids seem to intentionally tame that breakneck energy, finding more varied artistic territory as a result. Their energy – the sort of energy that lets you play 200 shows in five continents over two years, but also the sort of energy that leaves you exhausted afterwards – was their greatest weapon. Even on their ballads, like “Celebration Rock” closer “Continuous Thunder,” the guitars and drums kept up a constant barrage of sound, never letting up on the listener. The first two Japandroids albums never slowed down. Things aren’t radically different – the album’s only two minutes longer than the first two and boasts the same number of tracks, and guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse haven’t let any outside musicians into their duo – yet “Near To The Wild Heart Of Life” stands apart from Japandroids’ earlier work as feeling far more expansive, for better or for worse. On their third album, “Near To The Wild Heart Of Life,” Japandroids sound like a band that’s had some time to think. In a hyper-exposed cultural world where even recluses like Frank Ocean can’t escape the all-seeing eye of social media in the long interims between albums, Japandroids pulled off a rare vanishing act. No Facebook posts, no Tweets, no secret shows or guest appearances – not even any interviews to explain the disappearance itself. In short, Japandroids were poised to be the next big thing, if they weren’t there already.įrom their November 2013 announcement that it was “time for us to disappear into the ether for a while” to the announcement of a limited, six-venue tour in August 2016, Japandroids were silent. Their brand of hard rock – melded together the lyrical bombast and guitar heroics of classic rock and the raw, nervous energy of punk – grabs you with an immediacy not often seen in modern rock they struck a balance between the mumbling insecurities of indie folksters and the bloated pretension of the U2’s and Coldplays of the world. Their two albums, both eight-track affairs that clocked in at 35 minutes each, captivated the world of indie music – and it’s easy to see why. The Vancouver-based rock duo had released their second album, “Celebration Rock,” to widespread critical acclaim the prior year and wrapped up a 200-show world tour in November. In 2013, Japandroids were on top of the world.
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