“Fire’s Highway” was equal parts John Mellencamp and Fucked Up. Though still anchored in the attack aesthetic of their stage shows, the songs now boasted an unashamed anthemic quality, filtering in overtly mainstream influences. Whereas on their 2009 debut, Post-Nothing, “Young Hearts Spark Fire” sounded like Dinosaur Jr colliding with Hüsker Dü – all careening melody and upstart lo-fi energy – by 2012’s follow-up, Celebration Rock, Japandroids were more streamlined. That said, the influence of their more abrasive forebears has steadily decreased with time. Essentially a standard four-piece guitar band cleverly compressed into two units, their take on classic ’70s and ’80s rock comes filtered through the stringency of punk and post-punk alternative rock. What makes Japandroids stand out from other duos, however, is the lack of an overt blues base. Like those pairs, their popularity is rooted in the kind of exhilaratingly raw live performances which offer a corrective to the pre-set, almost-live predictability of so many contemporary rock bands. The Vancouver band, comprising Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals), have come to prominence during a post-White Stripes boom dominated by the likes of The Black Keys, Royal Blood, Shovels & Rope, Drenge and Wye Oak. Japandroids’ rise through the ranks has coincided with the golden age of the power duo.
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