Celebration Rock is the second studio album by Canadian rock duo Japandroids, released on June 5, 2012, by Polyvinyl. Recorded in Vancouver with Post-Nothing engineer Jesse Gander, the band aspired to capture the spirit and energy of their live shows, thus forgoing standard studio techniques such as double tracking and overdubbing, while consciously taking into account the perceived reaction of their audience to hearing the songs live in concert.Rytlewski, Evan "Japandroids: Bottling the Enthusiasm". Express Milwaukee. May 21, 2013 accessed January 22, 2014.Dombal, Ryan. Japandroids Talk New Album. Pitchfork Media. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
The album was released to widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its blending of classic rock and punk rock influences.Hermes, Will "Japandroids: One Part Classic Rock, One Part Punk", NPR, June 6, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.Cohen, Ian "Reviews - Japandroids, Celebration Rock", Pitchfork Media, May 29, 2012 accessed June 7, 2012. The Globe and Mail named it the best Canadian album of 2012, while CBC declared it the best rock album of the year, later ranking it #91 on its list of The 100 Greatest Canadian Albums Ever.CBC Music "The 100 Greatest Canadian Albums Ever", CBC Music, July 28, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. The album was also well received internationally, 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. Pitchfork later recognized Celebration Rock as one of best albums of the 2010s, describing it as "the most beautiful, life-affirming rock record of the decade". The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014). Pitchfork Media. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
Background Japandroids toured extensively in support of their first album, performing over 200 shows in more than 20 countries between June 2009 and October 2010. Following two New Year's shows December 31 and January 1 at Schubas Tavern in Chicago, the band decided to discontinue touring in support of Post-Nothing, and return to Vancouver to begin work on a new album.Warwick, Kevin. “Early Warnings Roundup”, Chicago Reader, 04 November 2010. Retrieved on 05 February 2019.Dombal, Ryan Interviews: Japandroids. Pitchfork Media. 24 May 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
After taking the bulk of 2011 off to work on new material, Japandroids revealed that they would tour North America with Bass Drum of Death 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 Record Co., June 7, 2011 accessed November 22, 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, August 29, 2011 accessed November 22, 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. November 15, 2013 accessed January 22, 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.Kane, Siobhán "Japandroids: It Can Start To Feel Like Work" . Thumped. October 23, 2013 accessed January 22, 2014. Both "The House That Heaven Built" and "Continuous Thunder" were written during this period.
Recording The album was recorded in Vancouver with Post-Nothing engineer Jesse Gander. The band has said they intended for the album to capture the spirit and energy of their live shows, thus foregoing standard studio techniques such as double tracking and overdubbing, while consciously taking into account the perceived reaction of their audience to hearing the songs live in concert. On recording the album, guitarist Brian King said "Technically speaking, the process for recording Celebration Rock was almost identical to that of our previous records: same studio, same engineer, same equipment, same techniques, etc. To me, the progression lies in the songwriting, the captured performances, and the mixing/production of the album, all of which are simply reflections of our shared knowledge and experience since recording Post-Nothing."Stanley, Carl Louder Than War Interview: Japandroids. Louder Than War. October 11, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.
In an interview with Pitchfork, drummer Dave Prowse cited Appetite for Destruction as a specific influence on the album's sequencing. Rather than having a traditional ‘Side A’ and ‘Side B’ structure, Appetite For Destruction is split into ‘G’ and ‘R’ sides: the former 'Gun' side dealing with violence and debauchery (‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘Paradise City’), while the latter 'Roses' side focused on love and sex (‘Sweet Child o' Mine’, ‘Rocket Queen’). As King further explained, "We had this idea of the album having two sides, where [like Appetite For Destruction] ‘Side A’ is super-intense and ‘Side B’ is softer and poppier."
Music The music on Celebration Rock has been described as "one part classic rock, one part punk", due to the 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.Gormely, Ian "Review: Japandroids - Celebration Rock", Exclaim!, May 29, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. Critic Steven Hyden described Celebration Rock as "taking a mighty lunge at the pantheon of great rock records," commenting that the album "addresses the teenage wasteland with the bombastic mix of fury and empathy that derives from Who's Next; traffics in the same streetwise rock-patter drivel originating from Born to Run; has the drunkard's sentimentality of Let It Be, and the tour-weary determinism of Appetite for Destruction. It's a beefy, pop-conscious punk record in the mold of Nevermind, and it's destined to become, like White Blood Cells, an important battle in the never-ending war to end bass playing as we know it."Hyden, Steven "Japandroids and The Beach Boys try to recapture rock's lost youth", Grantland, June 6, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. Tyler Kane of Paste Magazine assessed: "Like on their debut Post-Nothing, Japandroids remain relentless from the get-go, infusing their pulsating anthems with epic sing-alongs as they shout out choruses that 'yell like hell to the heavens.'" King explained: "We actually tried to simulate the sound of what we thought the crowd would do during the songs. Dave and I were in the studio just screaming out as if we were in the audience at our own show."
The band has repeatedly cited Live at Raji's by The Dream Syndicate as a major influence, stating that it was the record they had listened to the most during the writing and recording of Celebration Rock.Murphy, Tom "Brian King of Japandroids on Husker Du, the Gun Club and the lost art of album art" , Westword, June 19, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. The song "The Nights of Wine and Roses" is an homage to The Dream Syndicate song "The Days of Wine and Roses".
Lyrics Lyrically, Celebration Rock has been described as a callback to classic rock conventions for its use of universal, mythic rock & roll language, including the use of contrasting themes such as good and evil, heaven and hell, life and death, young and old, etc. More specifically, themes explored on the album include friendship, lust, revenge, art, and self-actualization. As Ian Cohen of Pitchfork noted, "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." Regarding his use of language and themes, King stated:
King has cited the novel Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry as a primary influence, inspiring him to try using more descriptive and poetic language in his lyrics: "In retrospect, the only work I can see reflected in the lyrics of Celebration Rock is Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry, a book I read twice during 2010-2011."Adams, Jacob "Interview: Japandroids" , Spectrum Culture, June 12, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.
Release and promotion
"Younger Us", the second single by Japandroids, was released by Polyvinyl Record Co. on July 20, 2010. It has been later included on Celebration Rock."Polyvinyl Record Co. - Japandroids: Celebration Rock (June 5, 2012)"
On March 26, 2012, Japandroids announced that their second album Celebration Rock would be released by Polyvinyl on June 5, 2012,Dombal, Ryan. Japandroids Talk New Album, Pitchfork Media, 09 March 2012. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. preceded by a limited edition 7" of the album's first single "The House That Heaven Built" on May 15, 2012.Fitzmaurice, Larry. "Japandroids Share New Song, Tour Dates", Pitchfork Media, 26 March 2012. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. On May 27, 2012, Celebration Rock was streamed in its entirety on NPR Music.Thompson, Stephen. First Listen: Japandroids, 'Celebration Rock'. NPR Music. 27 May 2012. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. The album was released in the band's native Canada on May 29, 2012. On June 8, 2012, the band performed the songs "Fire's Highway" and "The House That Heaven Built" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.Britton, Luke. WATCH: Japandroids play two tracks on Fallon, The Line of Best Fit, 09 June 2012. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. On February 25, 2013, the band performed the song "The Nights of Wine & Roses" on Conan.Breihan, Tom. Watch Japandroids play Conan, Stereogum, 26 February 2013. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. On February 27, 2013, it was announced that "The House That Heaven Built" had temporarily been named the entrance theme for the Vancouver Canucks professional ice hockey team.Pelly, Jenn. Japandroids' "The House That Heaven Built" is now Vancouver Canucks' entrance song, Pitchfork Media, 27 February 2013. Retrieved on 05 February 2019. On June 20, 2013, the band performed the song "Adrenaline Nightshift" on Late Show with David Letterman.Hass, Rachel. Watch Japandroids Rock Letterman with "Adrenaline Nightshift" , ‘’Paste (magazine)’’, 05 January 2010. Retrieved on 05 February 2019.
Music video A video for "The House That Heaven Built", Japandroids' first music video, was released in August to promote the single.Minsker, Evan "Video: Japandroids: "The House That Heaven Built"", Pitchfork Media, August 13, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014. The black-and-white video, directed by Jim Larson and produced by Pitchfork.tv, documented one week in the life of Japandroids on tour using footage from the east coast portion of their spring 2012 U.S. tour, including live footage from shows in Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York City, Brooklyn, and Washington, D.C.Minsker, Evan "Japandroids Offer Commentary on Their "House That Heaven Built" Music Video", Pitchfork Media, December 13, 2012 accessed January 22, 2014.
Tour