Japandroids - Near To The Wild Heart Of Life

| Keith
It was last call at my local
And I stalled saying goodbye
So the girl behind the bar came over
And she took me aside
She kissed me like a chorus, said
“Give 'em hell for us
The last drink of the night, last night in town
Baby, this one is on the house

I was pretty excited when I heard earlier this week we'd have some new Japandroids coming soon, and now it's here! Celebrat(ion)! Rock! It's terrific and showcases much of what make Japandroids a great band. Celebration Rock was probably my favorite release of 2012 and you can hear a lot of that in "Near To The Wild Heart Of Life". It's got the classic sonic noise-rock sound so prevalent in their previous work, with even a bit more clarity and polish, and it works really well. It's a bit "Summer of '69" in the chorus, but even that's something I felt a bit on many of the best tracks from Celebration Rock. Here though it might come across even more clearly, which initially threw me, but quickly grew on me. Can't wait for the new album.

RIYL: Cloud Nothings, Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Thermals, JEFF The Brotherhood, Wavves