Album Details

• Artist: Japandroids
• Album: Post-Nothing
• Label: Polyvinyl
• Year of Release: 2009
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2009-11-17

Kevin's little note down below made me realize that I needed to finish this review that had been sitting half done for about 3 months. I've got a lot of these, sometimes some prods from your peers is all it takes to make you finish.

Japandroids. Yup, they are a Canadian band. The name threw me at first as well but when I heard "Young Hearts Spark Fire" on the local college radio station I had to look into Japandroids. They are actually from Vancouver, BC, home of other great acts like The New Pornographers etc. Their band got a big push from none other than Pitchfork with a raving review of their debut Post-Nothing and since then have re-issued it on the slightly larger and more established Polyvinyl label to keep up with the demand.

The cover of Post-Nothing gives absolutely no indication of the powerful and raw rock that lies on the recording itself. The album starts off with the powerful "The Boys Are Leaving Town". You start to see where this duo is heading with a very fuzzed out but raw sound. Then, as Kev_stev noted below is the life-altering "Young Hearts Spark Fire". The song is furious, fuzzy, powerful and damn catchy even with all of the above qualities. Even though that's the high-mark for Post-Nothing, it's not all downhill from there. "Wet Hair" has just as much going for it as the previous track. "Rockers East Vancouver" almost has a bit of a jazz feel to it, slightly slower than other breakneck tracks on the album but every bit as listenable. One of my favorite moments is "Crazy/Forever" which evokes a bit of a drone feel to it without delving into metal. "Sovereighnty" is super catchy as well. A huge nod to the Smashing Pumpkins with "I Quit Girls".

An easy comparison for Japandroids would be My Bloody Valentine but the caveat with this is that it's really only the fuzziness in production that warrants it. Japandroids music is ever so basic. It really is post-rock at it's finest, even with the "Post-Nothing" title. I would liken these guys more to Seam than anything else. Yet another great Canadian release. We'll see where they take their music from here.

User Reviews and Comments

on 2009-12-15 kev_stev Said:

great review. this one was definitely worthy of top 5 albums of the year. "i quit girls" and "young hearts spark fire" are 2 of my favorites from this year.
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-11-28 mountaloha Said:

I'm very excited to hear what these guys put out next. If it is half as good as Post-Nothing I'll be happy. "Wet Hair" is by far my favorite song on the album.
Rating: 8/10

on 2009-11-16 kev_stev Said:

"young hearts spark fire" alone makes this album an essential. it is an absolutely amazing song, and the album, as a whole, is also extremely impressive. this is a must listen guys!!! 9.5/10!
Rating: 9/10

on 2009-11-16 kev_stev Said:

Rating: 9/10