Album Review: Japandroids – Post-Nothing

Concept: Blunt, feel-good tunes with bare-bones instrumentation and production.

Sound: The low-quality fuzz of the recordings serves the tone of the songs well. It’s a good bet you’re getting a canned version of their live show, and that’s exactly what this music would be good for. Having the leisure to sit back and focus on the songwriting doesn’t do the album any favors. Both the songs themselves and the course of the album are very repetitive, and it’s hard to sit through the whole luminous shebang, however warm the first impression is. For the most part, the songs trade off between bright, affectionate acceleration and 90′s-style jams. The biggest hook of the album is its variety of small touches: abrupt cuts and joking re-hashes. A summary of their bag of tricks can be found on The Boys Are Leaving Town.

Lyrics: You’ll get your fill of ‘together/forever’ junk, but the duo is never terribly serious. They’re just seriously upbeat: inclusive and wistful.

Quick And Dirty: Solid proof of a worthwhile show, but it’s probably a good idea to just keep the CD on reserve as background music for your car. (♦♦♦½)