Celebration Rock [Digipak]

Performer: Japandroids
Engineer: Jesse Gander...
Producer: Japandroids; Jesse Gander...
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Personnel: Brian King (vocals, guitars); David Prowse (vocals, drums). Audio Mixer: Jesse Gander. Recording information: The Hive Creative Labs, Vancouver, BC, Canada (2010/2011). Photographers: Andy Mueller; Maryanne Ventrice; Sam Cowling; Simone Cecchetti; Leonardo Solis Varela; Annika Berglund; Andy Collins ; Charlotte Zoller; Tom Overlie; Geoff Hardagon; Christian Bobak; Reiner Asscheman; Brian Banks. Japandroids' Brian King and David Prowse admitted that they were at the point of breaking up just after recording Post-Nothing, when it suddenly exploded and became a critically adored sensation. Never fans of recording, the unexpected success -- largely due to Pitchfork's promotion of the track "Young Hearts Spark Fire" -- gave the duo a chance to tour for two years and get a taste of what they considered fun, playing the music for as many people as possible. When they returned to the studio for their follow-up, they aimed for new songs that stadium crowds would feel; huge, simple shout-along anthems, with springy "whoa-oh ohs" and "oh yeahs" as hooks, sung from a drunken partier's perspective. Hence the Andrew W.K.-ish title. Post-Nothing was similarly messy and celebratory, but Celebration Rock dumbs down the formula even more, often staying within the confines of two open chords for a full four- or five-minute song. This gives the record a constant fist-pumping drive, akin to the Gaslight Anthem or Titus Andronicus. All of the glorious innocence is still there, right down to the repeat template artwork, the same less-is-more production by Jesse Gander, and another raw, spirited, chin-first performance by the duo. With the exception of the oddly placed but well-performed cover of the Gun Club's "For the Love of Ivy," the songwriting is extremely straightforward. So much so that Celebration Rock could arguably lack the powerful impact of the first record. Still, it's a hell of lot of fun, and played loud, as it should be, lines like "we're drinking and we're still smoking/don't we have anything to live for? Well, of course we do" are perfect depictions of the uplifting ruckus, youthful exuberance, and sheer passion these boys deliver time and time again. ~ Jason Lymangrover

Rolling Stone (p.74) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Japandroids sing about lost youth and sex and drinking atop hammer-of-the-geeks distortion swirls and holler-along refrains..." Entertainment Weekly (p.96) - "There's nothing ironic or detached about this exhilarating blast of Canadian bar-punk." Q (Magazine) (p.104) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[G]ood-time guitar-pop anthems about girls and nights on the tiles, delivered at breakneck velocity and near-deafening volume." Uncut (magazine) (p.74) - "[O]n the magnificent 'For The Love Of Ivy' and the controlled fireworks of 'Continuous Thunder' it produces pounding blues of the most exhilarating kind."

Japandroids are an indie garage rock duo from Vancouver comprised of Brian King (guitar) and David Prowse (drums), who share the singing duties. Founded in 2006, the band self-released a pair of five-track EPs, ALL LIES (2007) and LULLABY DEATH JAMS (2008), before making its full-length album debut with POST NOTHING (2009) on the Canadian label Unfamiliar Records. Though Japandroids were more or less unknown at the time of their album debut, POST NOTHING got a big boost from the tastemaking website Pitchfork, which championed the album as one of its "Best New Music" selections.

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