Jun. 06, 2012 - Issue #868: Hot Summer Guide
Celebration Rock
Japandroids {recordings_bands_mg} Celebration Rock {/recordings_bands_mg}
Polyvinyl, 2012
4
For Celebration Rock, Vancouver duo Japandroids doesn't really alter the alchemy established on 2009's Post-Nothing. Like that album, this one is eight guitar-and-drum anthems of boozy, unrequited youthful nights funneled into big 'whoa-oh-whoa' choruses. But Celebration Rock shows the band didn't need to change a thing: the energy these guys conjure up, even in a studio setting, is incredible.Right from album launcher "The Nights of Wine and Roses" the duo channels big emotions through its simple setup, letting the kinetic spirit of the songs max out against the limitations of the band. "Fire's Highway" is an early peak, but the album balances itself through sequencing in a (sort of) breather track, a cover of the Gun Club's "For the Love of Ivy" at the halfway point. The near-perfect second half is one big cathartic run, accelerating from "Adrenaline Nightshift" and "Younger Us" to peak with "The House That Heaven Built" and come down with closer "Continuous Thunder."
The whole thing is over in under 40 minutes, ends on what could either be fireworks or firecrackers, and ultimately emerges as a thrilling document of the power of a good rock duo that sticks to its guns. vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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