Japandroids : Celebration Rock

There are a lot of guitar-and-drums duos out there these days, but one that has stood out & above since their start has been Vancouver’s Japandroids.  Brian King (guitar/vocals) and David Prowse (drums/vocals) nearly broke up around the release of debut Post-Nothing, but it earned such praise that the band was able to bring their killer live show across the continent and beyond.  With follow-up full-length Celebration Rock, the pair takes their evocative inspiration to the next level.

‘Celebration Rock’ is an apt title for this album, as right from the get-go with “The Nights of Wine and Roses”, Japandroids impressively celebrate life – through rock.  “Do we have something to live for?  Well, of course we do!”  The action and activity really never lets up throughout the record – even though it’s only eight tracks at just over a half-hour, one can feel exhausted by the end.  “Fire’s Highway” keeps it up, while “Evil’s Sway” takes on the darkness.  The energy is so high that even relative downshifts feel like a breather, such as “For the Love of Ivy”, while, on the flipside, “Younger Us” almost overwhelms.  “The House That Heaven Built” can uplift anyone, and closer “Continuous Thunder” builds into – and stays in – greatness.

‘A guitar-and-drums duo up-rocking’ can sound like the description for something very run-of-the-mill, but Japandroids had already proved they were more than that.  Now they’ve proved that they are great.

MP3 Stream: “The Nights of Wine and Roses“