Vancouver garage rock duo Japandroids have made a name for themselves as the best guitar/drums act since the late White Stripes. Amassing heaps of critical praise following their 2009 commercial debut Post-Nothing, their 2012 sophomore effort, Celebration Rock, was the rare guitar album that managed to sound both fresh and familiar, abrasive yet catchy, and feel emotional despite riding almost entirely on positive emotions. Where Post-Nothing featured minimalist lyrical refrains about young lust andย escapism repeated ad nauseam, Celebration Rock pulled lyrics from the exclamations of the bandโs fans at a show or from drunken statements of validation on the best night out ever. Crucially, neither of these albums felt corny; rather, they felt incredibly authentic, the conveying of blunt testosterone-fueled emotions through the most efficient means possible. Five years later, the duoโs third LP, Near to the Wild Heart of Life, is not only corny, but downright cringey. Guitarist and vocalist Brian King has never really been a great lyricist, but his words survived on their honesty and the emotion he put into singing them. After eight years as a successful rock band, it appears that Japandroids is still just as committed to delivering hedonistic, celebratory vibes through their rock music; but where once anyone who ever had a crush or got way too crossfaded with no consequences could resonate, now it appears you have to be a kick-ass rock band to empathize with Kingโs lyrics. Japandroids lo-fi debut commercial album, 2009’s Post-Nothing, was intended to be their last – the band had planned to call it quits after a small self-release. Sonically, Wild Heart is neither a vast departure from previous Japandroids releases nor is it much of a let down. The production immediately strikes as slicker and more carefully arranged than on previous Japandroids releases. Textured guitar overdubs, subtle synthesizers, a consistent but not abusive use of delay is on display. Basically, the record sounds exactly like what youโd expect on the third release from a rock duo that came from humble lo-fi origins. There is an uptick in chorused โWoah!โ and โYeah!โ harmonies, there is a song thatโs essentially a drifting shoegaze interlude, there are acoustic guitars. There is more. I canโt fault the band for wanting to evolve their sound (the aforementioned White Stripes walked a very similar arc), and the expanded arrangements donโt sound forced. Notably, drummer David Prowseโs energetic crashes and fills have never sounded better or more inventive. So no, from a tunes standpoint, Near to the Wild Heart of Life doesnโt disappoint. It doesnโt really excite, but itโs not a cause for concern. But the lyric sheet is shudder inducing. Right from the opening title track, King proves that he hasnโt stifled more nuanced poetry for the sake of resonant simplicity, but rather that he is simply incapable of translating his euphoria in any vaguely subtle way. Describing his last night at a bar before setting off on tour, King sings, โShe kissed me like a chorus, said โGive โem hell for usโ / And last drink of the night, last night in town / Baby, this one is on the houseโ before launching into a chorus of โAnd it got me all fired up! To go far away!โ So this is a song for all the guys who get action from hot bartenders and then get amped to go be rock stars? What happened to the collective [su_permalink id=”https://genius.com/Japandroids-the-nights-of-wine-and-roses-lyrics” target=”blank”]โWe down our drinks in a funnel of friendsโ[/su_permalink]ย or the youthful immediacy of [su_permalink id=”https://genius.com/Japandroids-younger-us-lyrics” target=”blank”]โGive me that night you were already in bed / said โfuck itโ and got up to drink with me insteadโ[/su_permalink]? Known for their thunderous live shows, the band played 218 dates in support of 2012’s Celebration Rock before going on hiatus. Things go from bad to worse on โNorth East South Westโ, a song about touring that rides off the singular idea of โboy it sure is fun to travel all over the country!โ and drops such face-palming lines as โMan, America made a mess of me / When I messed with Texas and Tennesseeโ and โAnd no matter how much I fan the flames / Canada always answers when I call her nameโ among numerous others. And on the following โTrue Love and a Free Life of Free Will,โ King offers the vacant sentiment โIโll love you if you love me.โ ย What? ย Youโre the biggest garage rock band out there and youโve got this shit on your record? [su_permalink id=”http://www.goldflakepaint.co.uk/old-hearts-still-firing-an-interview-with-japandroids/” target=”blank”]The band has stated that their favorite song on the record[/su_permalink], and the albumโs โcenterpiece,โ is the seven and a half minute โArc of Bar,โ which they compare, hilariously, to The Rolling Stonesโ โSympathy for the Devil.โ Iโve listened to this song repeatedly and thoroughly. Itโs about going out to a bar, drinking and thinking about getting laid. There is no insightful commentary. There are no clever turns of phrase (unless you count referring to men as โJacksโ and women as โQueensโ). There are repeated references to mosquitoes. The song is seven and a half minutes and never budges past the same two chord progression, adding a synth every eight bars or so and a singalong chorus of โYeahhhhโ between each verse thatโs so lazy and tired itโs impressive. The albumโs last three tracks offer a bit more variety but donโt especially entice, and are given the same trivial lyrical treatment that encapsulates the record. Itโs obvious that King has graduated from his days of [su_permalink id=”https://genius.com/Japandroids-i-quit-girls-lyrics” target=”blank”]โquitting girlsโ[/su_permalink] and has since found someone whom he feels deserves the focus of four of these songs, though canโt come up with anything more romantic than โAnd no known drink / No known drug /Could ever hold a candle to your love.โ The closing โIn a Body Like a Graveโ is pulled from the same well of unchallenging โus against the worldโ determinism as pretty much every Bon Jovi song, andย melodically fits pretty snugly within that unfortunate canon as well. The biggest counter argument to this assessment is that you donโt listen to Japandroids for the lyrics, and that theyโre still a big, exciting, passionate rock band giving their all and making exciting music. Iโd counter by saying that (A) Celebration Rock contains some of my favorite lyrical moments from the decade and that they are an absolutely essential component of that album, and that (B) there are plenty of great rock bands (Car Seat Headrest, Hop Along, Ought, Mitski, Waxahatchee, Japanese Breakfast, Titus Andronicus, Modern Baseball, Parquet Courts, White Lung, Courtney Barnett, and The Twilight Sad just to name a few) that donโt have to compromise lyrical integrity to make exciting, innovative rock music. I would still see the fuck out of a Japandroids concert on this tour, as a raucous, live setting is the perfect fit for their brand of high energy rock, but as far as a studio LP goes, Near to the Wild Heart of Life is fine at best and embarrassing at worst. ย To put it in King’s own words in what is perhaps the best lyric on the record: “I used to be good but now I’m baaaaad!” Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. 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