Japandroids “Post-Nothing” Review
The easiest way to sum up my feelings about Post-Nothing, the debut full-length from Vancouver’s Japandroids, is to tell you that the other day I played the CD in my car, and before I knew it, I was driving about 90 miles an hour down the highway. That is a testament to how propulsive and rousing the album really is, with the band going completely full throttle right from the get-go, never once easing off of the gas. The Canadian two-piece does away with any hint of excess on this 36 minute record, thoroughly avoiding anything inessential to the spirit of the song, leaving only the good bits that truly burn and blister like the sun.
The record storms out of the gates with the thundering “The Boys Are Leaving Town,” perhaps a tongue-in-cheek response to Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town,” that simply pummels the listener. The ferociously relentless drumming of David Prowse propels the guitar riffs and vocals of Brian King to only get faster and louder. Any band about to head out on tour would be well-served to listen to this song, not only to get motivation/inspiration for the long road ahead of them, but to hear what it sounds like when a band is clearly doing things right.
The duo doesn’t let up once over the course of the record, storming right into “Young Hearts Spark Fire,” an anthem of all that is right and confusing about being young, with the lines “I don’t want to worry about dying, I just want to worry about the sunshine girls” truly resonating and striking a common chord. And that is perhaps the best part of Post-Nothing; during the course of the album’s eight songs, you can put your worries aside and just give yourself up entirely to the relentless rock. The songs are all infectious, simple, and kick-ass, just like the best songs should be, and soon enough you find yourself wanting to see what it’s like to “french-kiss some French girls” just like King does in “Wet Hair.” The production is minimal and as bare-bones as you can get, and the music is all-consuming, seemingly coming at you from everywhere. It’s best to just give in and enjoy the ride.
[uncredited group promo shot via 2:30 Publicity]
“Heart Sweats” is my song of the summer, with Prowse’s pounding drums leading the way into a cauldron of fuzzed-out distortion amidst King’s witty vocals: “Your style is such a mess girl, I should know I used to date a stylist/Still my heart sweats.” It’s a non-stop adrenaline rush of a track, and expresses the sound of two guys that are absolutely locked in musically, only interested in playing louder and faster. “Crazy/Forever” could just as easily be thought of as an instrumental with how raucous and biting the drums and guitar are on the song, but the endearingly simple lyrics that are just barely audible amidst the cacophonous racket could be viewed as the band’s manifesto: “We’ll stick together forever/Stay sick together/Be crazy forever.” Here’s to hoping that maxim proves true, and that this band sticks together for many years to come.
The record closes out as strongly as it began (there really isn’t any filler at all on this taut garage-rock masterpiece) with the one-two punch of the scorching “Sovereignty,” and the droning “I Quit Girls.” “Sovereignty” shows that not only is the band unified to take their music to all ends of the globe, leaving their friends and all they know behind, but that they can easily bury a great melody within their noise. Tack on a massive, instantly catchy chorus to the end and the song just soars: “It’s raining in Vancouver, but I don’t give a fuck, ’cause I’m far from home tonight.” It’s a sentiment that all of us that have left something behind can relate to. “I Quit Girls” is the album’s somber coda, and comes as close to a ballad as the band is going to get, even with its buzzing guitar and distorted vocals. Which is to say, it’s not much of a ballad at all. It ends the record on a bit of a downer, but is still the perfect way to finish an album that seems to be over in a flash. In a year that has seen a lot of “Album of the Year” candidates released, Post-Nothing has rocketed to the top of my list. The Japandroids have crafted a cohesive, stirring record that brilliantly captures the energy and urgency of youth, love, lust and longing. I’ll bill them for my speeding tickets.
Japandroids “Young Hearts Spark Fire” [MP3]
Cool review! One of the best debut album I have heard for many a year.