Japandroids: Near To The Wild Heart Of Life

Japandroids
Near To The Wild Heart Of Life
(Anti-/Epitaph)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The fact that a two-man Canadian band that plays loud rock and roll utterly devoid of irony would be releasing one of the most anticipated albums of 2017 shows how unpredictable music can be. It also reassures that quality can still rise to the top, because the music made by Japandroids is so vibrant that it might be dangerous: You actually feel like you can run through a wall after listening.

Five years after the release of breakthrough Celebration Rock, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life follows under the scrutiny targeted at any Next Big Thing. The good news is that Japandroids once again have delivered the cathartic goods, even if the similarities to the previous album dull the sense of discovery some. Like its predecessor, you will play this album loud, shout along to it, and leave it sweaty, hoarse and invigorated.

Deviations from the last album are subtle. The lyrics are maybe a bit more intricate this time around, but they still rely on open-hearted platitudes about life lived hard and love without restraint, the eternal human struggle between the righteous path and inclinations to darkness, and, of course, well-timed “whoa-oh” shouts than can sometimes say it all. The music still trades heavily on David Prowse’s endlessly rolling drums and Brian King’s speedily-strummed electric guitar. “Arc Of Bar,” driven by a sinuous, synthesizer groove, and “I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner),” which relies on stop-and-start rhythms and hazy atmospherics, change the tone slightly but are far from unrecognizable.

But why change when the Japandroids’ formula is so on point? On “True Love And A Free Life Of Free Will,” King sings about needing just “a little money and whatever’s on the radio.” If you put on something as potent as this album, you can skip the cash and still be just fine.