Japandroids - Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Polyvinyl, 2017
I’ll preface this by saying that we will talk about Celebration Rock later, but it’s important to know where this album stands in relation to that one. I still feel deep regret making Father John Misty’s Fear Fun my favorite album of 2012, not because it’s a bad album, but because that album doesn’t hold up nearly as well. Yes, this is in regard to a list that is essentially for myself, but man it haunts me. But the thing about year end lists--and a thing I’ve learned to live with--is that they present a true snapshot of what that year’s listening looked like. Arctic Monkeys’ Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino is another great example of an album that was my favorite in the moment, but has since been surpassed. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the staying power an album is going to have until you find yourself listening to it three years later and loving it more than you did in the first place.
The thing Japandroids have going against them is their dumb band name. It’s so bad, and even worse if you take into account how sublimely outstanding their music is. It’s a reason why I was hesitant to get into their debut Post-Nothing, and it might have contributed to a horribly misguided pan I wrote about one of their Lawrence shows in The Pitch. And lo, they overcame that because they write the purest, most white-hot anthem rock of their generation, and Near to the Wild Heart of Life is their most complete record. It’s an album about adventure. About leaving town, about missing home, and living life on the road. A classic tour album, sure, but done with Japandroids flair for brilliant hooks and even more brilliant fist-pumping anthems. What’s cool about Near to the Wild Heart of Life is that they shift gears a few times into quieter territory (by Japandroids standards, at least) which makes the album a different experience than Celebration Rock but one that is worth revisiting a thousand times over.
No comments:
Post a Comment