Any music fan worth their salt will have heard of Japandroids. All those still earning their musical stripes will find it worth their while getting to know the duo. For the uninitiated, Japandroids, aside from having the best pun in their name this side of Camper Van Beethoven, are one of the most exciting Canadian bands of the new millennium. In a Canadian indie scene that is flowing over with talent (Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, etc.), Japandroids have become legendary for their live prowess and their energy.
Any music fan worth their salt will have heard of Japandroids. All those still earning their musical stripes will find it worth their while getting to know the duo. For the uninitiated, Japandroids, aside from having the best pun in their name this side of Camper Van Beethoven, are one of the most exciting Canadian bands of the new millennium. In a Canadian indie scene that is flowing over with talent (Arcade Fire, The New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, etc.), Japandroids have become legendary for their live prowess and their energy.
Their most recent album, Celebration Rock, is a collection of five-minute bursts of visceral rock music, drums crashing, guitars wailing and snarling, and voices shouting above the fray. Fans of the band’s debut album, Post-Nothing, will find the idea of the vocals being above the mix a little foreign. In Post-Nothing, the vocals hovered beneath the music, never quite breaking free. Dave Prowse, on drums and vocals, confirmed that this album marks a change in the way they work: “We´re becoming less ashamed of our voices as time goes on, so we’re less and less shy about bringing them up in the mix. For a long time, the vocals and lyrics were an afterthought in the songwriting process, whereas now they are as important as the music.”
The music is certainly important, as their legions of fans across the world will attest. The two members of the band are influenced by an impressive number of great artists – “The Sonics, Constantines, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Mclusky” to name a few. The influence of shoegaze also looms large, without ever allowing their music to descend into the somnambulant noodlings of so many noisier artists.
However, as excellent as the recordings are, it seems the heart of Japandroids lies in live performance. Prowse acknowledges the importance of recorded output as a permanent mark left on the musical world. He insists, however, that the Japandroids “started playing in a band because we wanted to play shows, and playing live is still what I love most about being in a band.”
Nowadays, Japandroids play gigs across the world, and across Canada, although the life of a Canadian touring band is a difficult one – “Canada is such a gigantic land mass with very few people, so touring across Canada involves a lot of long, long drives.” They still manage to cover the three main cities – Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal – but this unfortunately leaves many smaller cities Japandroidless.
This must be especially galling given the global touring schedule that Japandroids regularly undertake, covering Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, Russia, Iceland, and Costa Rica. This is in part due to the support of internet tastemakers such as Pitchfork. Prowse admits as much: “I don’t think we would have been able to go to those places without the help of the internet, and the ease with which music can travel these days. Of course, some bands will always get more attention than others, but you can find anything you want online, and that’s amazing.”
This attention has fundamentally changed their lives (back before Post-Nothing they had perfectly normal existence) “working day jobs, playing shows on weekends, going on small tours when we could get the time off from work.” Nowadays, they have the opportunity to do what they love as their day job. Prowse is not naïve, however, and realises how far there is yet to go. “It has been incredibly exciting, and we are very aware of how lucky we are, but at times it has been a difficult transition. We’re still learning how to be a ‘real’ band, and we still have a long way to go.”
Celebration Rock starts and ends with the sound of distant fireworks. Perhaps this is a celebration not only of rock, or of how far the band has come, but of what lies before them. Or perhaps, as Prowse points out, they “just like having an excuse to light fireworks.” Fair enough, they deserve it!
Japandroids are currently touring.
Their most recent album, Celebration Rock, is a collection of five-minute bursts of visceral rock music, drums crashing, guitars wailing and snarling, and voices shouting above the fray. Fans of the band’s debut album, Post-Nothing, will find the idea of the vocals being above the mix a little foreign. In Post-Nothing, the vocals hovered beneath the music, never quite breaking free. Dave Prowse, on drums and vocals, confirmed that this album marks a change in the way they work: “We´re becoming less ashamed of our voices as time goes on, so we’re less and less shy about bringing them up in the mix. For a long time, the vocals and lyrics were an afterthought in the songwriting process, whereas now they are as important as the music.”
The music is certainly important, as their legions of fans across the world will attest. The two members of the band are influenced by an impressive number of great artists – “The Sonics, Constantines, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Mclusky” to name a few. The influence of shoegaze also looms large, without ever allowing their music to descend into the somnambulant noodlings of so many noisier artists.
However, as excellent as the recordings are, it seems the heart of Japandroids lies in live performance. Prowse acknowledges the importance of recorded output as a permanent mark left on the musical world. He insists, however, that the Japandroids “started playing in a band because we wanted to play shows, and playing live is still what I love most about being in a band.”
Nowadays, Japandroids play gigs across the world, and across Canada, although the life of a Canadian touring band is a difficult one – “Canada is such a gigantic land mass with very few people, so touring across Canada involves a lot of long, long drives.” They still manage to cover the three main cities – Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal – but this unfortunately leaves many smaller cities Japandroidless.
This must be especially galling given the global touring schedule that Japandroids regularly undertake, covering Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Greece, Russia, Iceland, and Costa Rica. This is in part due to the support of internet tastemakers such as Pitchfork. Prowse admits as much: “I don’t think we would have been able to go to those places without the help of the internet, and the ease with which music can travel these days. Of course, some bands will always get more attention than others, but you can find anything you want online, and that’s amazing.”
This attention has fundamentally changed their lives (back before Post-Nothing they had perfectly normal existence) “working day jobs, playing shows on weekends, going on small tours when we could get the time off from work.” Nowadays, they have the opportunity to do what they love as their day job. Prowse is not naïve, however, and realises how far there is yet to go. “It has been incredibly exciting, and we are very aware of how lucky we are, but at times it has been a difficult transition. We’re still learning how to be a ‘real’ band, and we still have a long way to go.”
Celebration Rock starts and ends with the sound of distant fireworks. Perhaps this is a celebration not only of rock, or of how far the band has come, but of what lies before them. Or perhaps, as Prowse points out, they “just like having an excuse to light fireworks.” Fair enough, they deserve it!
Japandroids are currently touring.
