The Fertile Crescent: Band You Should Be Listening To

...and I am back from the longest sabbatical ever. No need to explain myself, other than to say over the past two months I've lacked time, inspiration, and motivation to maintain this blog. Luckily, my recent hard drive reformat (thank you, Windows Vista) caused me to reevaluate my music library and has given me some long awaited ideas.

Of course, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't make my fist post in two months about some band that likes to make lots of noise. I really know very little about Japandroids, other than they are from Vancouver, BC and they derive their lo-fi sound from the acceptance of making do with what they have.

When bands don't have any money or exposure, they are forced to take matters into their own hands. Japandroids self-recorded and distributed two EP's using nothing but a drum set, guitar, two vocalizers, and a four track mixer. So you could say their lo-fi sound was predetermined whether they wanted to sound that way or not, but it suits them perfectly.

Like LA's No Age and San Diego skate punk band Wavves, Japandroids are a guitar + drums duo whose DIY punk ideals are leading a lo-fi renaissance of sorts. Their two-step drum and cymbal rhythms and garage-punk guitar riffs evoke the heyday of the noise/skate/garage punk era of the early to mid 1990's, when labels like Sub Pop and SST were releasing classic records seemingly by the dozens. Japandroids could easily have fit in during that era, as it isn't difficult for me to imagine them blowing the doors off some run-down warehouse in San Pedro while opening for the Minutemen.

If you want to hear more of these guys, their debut album Post-Nothing is now available on Canada's Unfamiliar Records. Also, for the LA readers of this blog they are playing the Silver Lake lounge on 5/29. People up North can catch them at Seattle's annual Capitol Hill Block Party (along with The Jesus Lizard, Sonic Youth, Deerhunter and many more) on July 25th.