Japandroids

Japandroids is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Japandroids
Japandroids.jpg
Japandroids performing at the Hillside Festival in 2010
Background information
OriginVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresAlternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, noise rock, garage rock, post-punk
Years active2006–present
LabelsPolyvinyl Record Co.
MembersBrian King
David Prowse

Career

The band was formed in 2006 by Brian King and David Prowse. King and Prowse met each other in 2000 while they were attending the University of Victoria in Victoria.[1] They started going to live shows together regularly in Victoria and Vancouver after they found out that they had a mutual interest in music. In 2003, Prowse moved to Vancouver and transferred to Simon Fraser University. After King graduated in 2005, he moved to Vancouver to form the band with Prowse. The band was influenced by The Sonics and they started writing music in 2006.[1] The band got their name from a combination of two other band name ideas: Japanese Scream and Pleasure Droids.[1]

The band self-released two EPs: All Lies in 2007 and Lullaby Death Jams in 2008.[2][3] The EPs were only limited to 500 copies each but were re-released as a compilation titled No Singles in 2010.[4]

Their first studio album titled Post-Nothing was released on April 28, 2009 through Unfamiliar Records and re-released on August 4, 2009 on Polyvinyl Record Co. In March 2009, the website Pitchfork Media named the song "Young Hearts Spark Fire" as a 'Best New Track'.[5] This helped the band gain more recognition outside of Canada.[6]

The band's second studio album Celebration Rock was released on June 5, 2012.[7] The album's first single "The House That Heaven Built" was released on May 15, 2012.[8]

The album received positive reviews. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork said, "Japandroids have gone from having almost none at all [lyrics] to packing their songs with an astonishing command of legend and literalism that all but dares you to feel something."[9] Spin named Japandroids 2012's Band of the Year and rated the album a 9 out of 10.[10][11] Rolling Stone rated it a 4 out of 5 and listed the album as #10 on their The 10 Coolest Summer Albums of All Time list.[12][13]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "No Fun City Rockers". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  2. "All Lies Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  3. "Lullaby Death Jams Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  4. "Japandroids: No Singles". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  5. "Single Review: Young Hearts Spark Fire". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2009-03-12. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  6. "Vancouver's own Japandroids make good". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  7. "Japandroids Talk New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  8. "Japandroids Share New Song, Tour Dates". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  9. "Celebration Rock Review". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  10. "Band of the Year: Japandroids". Spin. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  11. "Japandroids - Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)". Spin. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  12. "Japandroids Celebration Rock Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  13. "The 10 Coolest Summer Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2015-09-01.

Other websites