Japandroids were a Canadian rock duo from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Brian King on lead vocals and guitar, and David Prowse on drums and backing (with occasional lead) vocals.Lindsay, Cam "No Fun City Rockers", Exclaim!, May 2009 accessed November 10, 2010.
The band rose to prominence following the release of their debut album Post-Nothing (2009). Their second album, Celebration Rock (2012), was released to widespread critical acclaim,Metacritic "Japandroids - Celebration Rock", Metacritic, accessed January 22, 2014. with Rolling Stone calling it one of The 10 Coolest Summer Albums of All Time, and Spin naming the duo Band of the Year.Sheffield, Rob "The 10 Coolest Summer Albums of All Time" , Rolling Stone, July 18, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.Harvilla, Rob "Band of the Year: Japandroids", Spin, December 3, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. Japandroids toured heavily in support of both albums, gaining notoriety for their live performancesCaramanica, Jon "Kinetic, Exuberant and Loud on the Topic of Romance", The New York Times, July 12, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010.Chick, Stevie "Japandroids: Live at Heaven (London, UK)", The Guardian, October 29, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. and extensive international concert tours.Marotta, Michael "Japandroids finally wrap up their 230-show ‘Celebration Rock’ tour — which began in March 2012", Vanyaland, November 17, 2013 accessed January 22, 2014. Between 2009 and 2013, the band performed approximately 500 shows in 44 countries. The band's third studio album, Near to the Wild Heart of Life (2017), featured a more polished aesthetic and was released to more extensive touring.Stolworthy, Jacob. Japandroids interview: 'This new record is our first attempt at making a proper studio album', The Independent, 31 January 2017. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. The band released its fourth and final album, Fate & Alcohol, in October 2024 after several years of inactivity.
Japandroids' music has been described as "one part classic rock, one part punk",Hermes, Will "Japandroids: One Part Classic Rock, One Part Punk", NPR, June 6, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. due to their blending of classic rock influences such as Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, with punk rock influences such as the Replacements and Hüsker Dü.Devlin, Mike "Why Japandroids should win the Polaris Prize" , CBC Music, July 30, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.Rubin, Mike "Loud Enough to Be Heard in Another Country", The New York Times, June 15, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.Cohen, Ian "Reviews - Japandroids, Celebration Rock", Pitchfork Media, May 29, 2012 accessed June 7, 2012.Gormely, Ian "Review: Japandroids - Celebration Rock", Exclaim!, May 29, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.
History
Early years (2006–2008)
Japandroids was formed in 2006 by Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals). The two met in 2000 while attending the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, and upon discovering a mutual interest in music, began attending live shows together regularly in Victoria and Vancouver. In 2003, Prowse moved to Vancouver, transferring to Simon Fraser University. Eager to form their own band, King agreed to relocate to Vancouver following his graduation, doing so in 2005. Heavily influenced by the raw and energetic recordings of The Sonics, King and Prowse began writing and recording music in 2006, hoping to emulate the same style. While they originally intended to find a third member to act as lead vocalist, they later decided to forego having a specific lead singer and simply share vocal duties.Usinger, Mike "Vancouver's Own Japandroids Make Good", The Georgia Straight, May 14, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. The name Japandroids is a portmanteau formed from two other band name ideas: Japanese Scream (from Prowse) and Pleasure Droids (from King). Occasionally they would spell it without vowels, as JPNDRDS.
Frustrated by the lack of support for live music in Vancouver, as well as the difficulty of 'breaking into' the local music scene, King and Prowse regularly set up their own shows. Inspired by the do-it-yourself methods of bands like Fugazi, they would often arrange for a venue or space to play, rent equipment, design and distribute flyers and posters, as well as arrange for their friends to help run the shows.Berman, Stuart "Interview: Japandroids", Eye Weekly, March 9, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Japandroids performed their first live show on December 30, 2006. Over the next two years, they would perform regularly in Vancouver, but managed only short, sporadic tours due to conflicts with King's geology studies. During this period, Japandroids self-released two EPs, 2007's All Lies,Worth, Liz "EP Review: All Lies" , Exclaim!, December 2007 accessed November 10, 2010. and 2008's Lullaby Death Jams.Worth, Liz "EP Review: Lullaby Death Jams", Exclaim!, May 2008 accessed November 10, 2010. Each EP was limited to 500 copies, and would later be re-released as a compilation titled No Singles.
Japandroids recorded their first full-length album, Post-Nothing in the summer of 2008, with the intention of self-releasing it in 2009. However, by the fall of 2008, King and Prowse had become convinced that the band was going nowhere, and mutually decided to call it quits at the end of the year. It was agreed that their appearances at Pop Montreal in Montreal and CMJ Music Marathon in New York City would be their final live performances. It was also agreed that they would self-release the album early in 2009, but would not promote it. By December 2008, King was already attempting to assemble a new band.
Post-Nothing (2009–2010)
In January 2009, Japandroids signed to independent Canadian label Unfamiliar Records, who were eager to release the album, despite the band's reservations about continuing. Frustrated by label interest only after they had decided to break-up, King and Prowse reluctantly agreed to continue Japandroids temporarily, and began performing live again. In March 2009, taste-making website Pitchfork awarded the song "Young Hearts Spark Fire" a 'Best New Track' designation, instantly exposing the band to a large audience outside of Canada.Hogan, Marc "Single Review: Young Hearts Spark Fire" , Pitchfork Media, March 4, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Their debut album, Post-Nothing was released in Canada in April 2009,"A Completely Biased Ranking of the 60 Best Canadian Indie Rock Songs of the 00s Part II". Vice, Cam Lindsay Apr 10 2017 originally on vinyl only. Pitchfork championed the album, awarding it a 'Best New Music' designation, and praising its rawness, energy and reckless abandon.Cohen, Ian "Album Review: Post-Nothing", Pitchfork Media, April 27, 2009, accessed November 10, 2010. Japandroids were subsequently signed to Polyvinyl Record Co. in June 2009.Polyvinyl Record Co. "Japandroids Join Polyvinyl Family" , Polyvinyl Record Co., June 5, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010.
Post-Nothing was released worldwide in August 2009 to widespread critical acclaim, especially in Canada where Exclaim! named it the second best album of 2009.Gormely, Ian "Pop Rocks: Year In Review 2009", Exclaim!, December 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. It was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize as well as nominated for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.Polaris Music Prize "Polaris Music Prize: 2009 Nominees" , Polaris Music Prize, April 27, 2009, accessed November 10, 2010.Juno Awards "Juno Awards: 2010 Nominees", 2010 Juno Awards, March 3, 2010, accessed November 10, 2010. The album was also well-received internationally, appearing on many year-end lists including Pitchfork (#15),Hogan, Marc "Staff Lists: Top 50 Albums of 2009" , Pitchfork Media, December 17, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Spin (#16),Marchese, David "The 40 Best Albums of 2009", Spin, December 7, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. NME (#39),Edwards, Tom "The 50 Best Albums of 2009", NME, December 9, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. The A.V. Club (#25),Ryan, Kyle "The Top 25 Albums of 2009", The A.V. Club, December 9, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Pop Matters (#35),Fortune, Drew "The Best 60 Albums of 2009", Pop Matters, December 18, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Stereogum (#21), and reached No. 22 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.Billboard [ "Billboard Heatseekers Chart History"], Billboard, August 22, 2009 accessed November 10, 2010.
Japandroids toured extensively to promote the album, earning praise for their energetic live performances. The Post-Nothing Tour consisted of 9 individual legs, and included over 200 shows in more than 20 countries. While primarily headlining their own shows, Japandroids also toured supporting acts such as A Place To Bury Strangers and Health in Europe, and The Walkmen in North America.
The Post-Nothing Tour was originally scheduled to begin on April 23, 2009, in Calgary, Alberta. After performing one show, Japandroids were forced to postpone and reschedule the remainder of their first full-scale North American tour due to a health emergency. On the morning of April 24, 2009, King was checked into Calgary's Foothills Medical Center to undergo emergency surgery for a life-threatening perforated ulcer. Touring resumed June 13, 2009 after King's recovery with a performance at Vancouver's Music Waste festival, and continued uninterrupted through to the final show October 27, 2010 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey. Among the dates of the tour were numerous festival appearances in North America and Europe, including Pitchfork Music Festival, Sasquatch!, Bonnaroo, Osheaga Festival, Roskilde Festival, and Primavera Sound.
Initially, the duo desired to include several more tracks on the album, but were unable due to insufficient funds.Tedder, Michael "Q&A: Japandroids' Brian King" , The Village Voice, October 26, 2010 accessed November 10, 2010. Many of the un-included tracks that the duo had written for the album were later recorded and released in 2010 as series of limited edition 7" singles. These tracks include "Art Czars", "Younger Us", and "Heavenward Grand Prix". The same year, Japandroids re-released their first two EPs as a compilation titled No Singles. The band has stated that both the 7" singles series, as well as the No Singles compilation, were designed to appease fans desire for more music, as they would not be able to record a second album until 2011 due to an extensive touring schedule.
Celebration Rock (2011–2013)
After taking the bulk of 2011 off to work on new material, Japandroids revealed that they would tour North America throughout August and September playing primarily smaller, intimate venues in order to test out their new material prior to the recording of their second album.Polyvinyl Record Co. "Japandroids Announce North American Tour" , Polyvinyl, 7 June 2011. Retrieved on 22 November 2011. During these shows, the band debuted several new songs including "Fire's Highway", "Adrenaline Nightshift", and "Evil's Sway".Adams, Gregory "Revved-up Japandroids return to action in Vancouver", The Georgia Straight, 29 August 2011. Retrieved on 22 November 2011. Following the tour, the band temporarily relocated from Vancouver to Nashville to continue writing.Talbott, Chris "Canadian noise rockers Japandroids lived and worked among us" , Nashville Scene, 15 November 2013. Retrieved on 22 January 2014. The duo cited disillusion with Vancouver, as well as the difficulty of returning to a sedentary lifestyle following two years of continuous touring, as the primary motivations for the move.