J is for Japandroids

The thing I love about a good garage or noise rock EP is that it's quick and dirty. With just a handful of songs, a good band can prove they're worth watching out for while a decent band doesn't get a chance to wear out its welcome.
Vancouver duo Brian King and David Prowse - who perform under the name Japandroids (which they've taken to writing as JPNDRDS) - prove with their new EP Lullaby Death Jams what 2007's All Lies EP promised: these dudes are worth watching out for.

The songs throb with raw energy and the pair make a clamor far louder than many a larger band. Consider lead-off track "Darkness On The Edge Of Gastown" with its repeated chugging guitar line and pounding drums, which nearly passes for a chorus over the first two minutes until King starts singing the title with Prowse screaming his 'harmony' part - it's a cacaphony that would make Welsh trio McClusky proud. [As would this video of the Japandroids covering "To Hell With Good Intentions"]

The band recorded both of their EPs with Matt Skillings of Run Chico Run, and its likely that a third EP will see them returning to Victoria to record with Skillings again if my inference of comments made in this Other Press interview are correct. Here's hoping, because 1 and 2 have been barn-burners.

Lullaby Death Jams is available for $5 at Scratch, Zulu and Redcat in Vancouver, Megatunes in Calgary and Edmonton and Soundscapes in Toronto, or from the band via their Myspace page or right from them at shows.

I couldn't find an MP3 to post but there are a few of the songs from LDJ on their Myspace page.

Thanks for reading, now start listening...

QUICK ADDENDUM:
Have you noticed all the "Japan" band names? Japandroids, Japanther, Japancakes... I was going to lay a claim to Japanda Bear but a Google search indicates there may be a DJ who goes under that moniker, so right here, right now, I'm laying claim to using Japanderson Cooper.