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Image via Unsplash.
Sounds like:
No Age,
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Why do we like this?
Last year, Japandroids' David Prowse said in an interview that his band experienced a drastic increase in popularity after an 8.3/Best New Music Pitchfork review of their debut album, Post-Nothing, and an Exclaim magazine cover. But before that attention, the Canadian duo had self-released two EPs.
No Singles compiles those EPs (2007's All Lies and 2008's Lullaby Death Jams) in a single set. When listening to material that a band originally released before they received more widespread attention, there are two questions you should ask yourself: 1. How much has this band evolved? and 2. Do I like them more now or then?
Both questions' answers come fairly easily because of Japandroids' minimal advance in sound; through the EPs, the album and their 2010 singles, these guys have played a fuzzy brand of fun, punk-influenced rock with lyrics that are often about both the carelessness and crisis of post-adolescence, and observations of others in their own demographic.
That's not to say that every Japandroids release is the same. During that same interview, Prowse (drums/vocals) and Brian King (guitar/vocals) agreed that the biggest change in their group's sound has been confidence - confidence in their vocals, songwriting and all-around ability. In fact, their uncertainty even shows up in No Singles' liner notes: they covered Mclusky's "To Hell with Good Intentions" on All Lies because they wanted to make sure their first EP had "at least one good song on it." The most obvious change seems to be in their ability to craft a great hook -- other than "Coma Complacency," there aren't any tracks as catchy as "Young Hearts Spark Fire" or "Wet Hair" on this compilation.
If you're looking for an incentive to buy the physical copy of No Singles, the packaging features a booklet full of photographs of the guys in their pre-Post-Nothing days, listed tour dates from 2006-2008, and even pictures of gig posters from when they were known as JPNDRDS.
No Singles compiles those EPs (2007's All Lies and 2008's Lullaby Death Jams) in a single set. When listening to material that a band originally released before they received more widespread attention, there are two questions you should ask yourself: 1. How much has this band evolved? and 2. Do I like them more now or then?
Both questions' answers come fairly easily because of Japandroids' minimal advance in sound; through the EPs, the album and their 2010 singles, these guys have played a fuzzy brand of fun, punk-influenced rock with lyrics that are often about both the carelessness and crisis of post-adolescence, and observations of others in their own demographic.
That's not to say that every Japandroids release is the same. During that same interview, Prowse (drums/vocals) and Brian King (guitar/vocals) agreed that the biggest change in their group's sound has been confidence - confidence in their vocals, songwriting and all-around ability. In fact, their uncertainty even shows up in No Singles' liner notes: they covered Mclusky's "To Hell with Good Intentions" on All Lies because they wanted to make sure their first EP had "at least one good song on it." The most obvious change seems to be in their ability to craft a great hook -- other than "Coma Complacency," there aren't any tracks as catchy as "Young Hearts Spark Fire" or "Wet Hair" on this compilation.
If you're looking for an incentive to buy the physical copy of No Singles, the packaging features a booklet full of photographs of the guys in their pre-Post-Nothing days, listed tour dates from 2006-2008, and even pictures of gig posters from when they were known as JPNDRDS.
Streaming source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fZMEzg-u7A
TOUR DATES
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