Once upon a time before the internets, bands could, and usually did, struggle for years in obscurity before constant touring and word of mouth spread them to a larger audience. By the time a band from, say, Chapel Hill, or San Pedro, found their way to a teenager's ears in Indianapolis, they may have already produced a couple of albums and more than a few singles and eps. Part of the joy in discovering a new band was seeking out their back catalog. Maybe not everything your new favorite band had previously recorded was revelatory, but you always came across some tracks that ended up changing your life once you unearthed them. It was fun to dig through record store bins looking for those buried treasures. There was always a sense of accomplishment that came with finding a 7" you thought you would never actually get to hold in your hands, let alone take home in a brown paper bag and put on your turntable. In many ways those days were a lot more rewarding than now.
For many, crate digging has been replaced by simply pointing and clicking on an mp3. The internet has changed the game entirely for musicians. An artist can literally achieve overnight recognition based on the strength of a single posted on the web. Right now there are bands who have yet to release a single album, but garner a ridiculous amount of buzz based solely on a couple of internet-only tracks. Over this past week alone, the bands Male Bonding and Sleigh Bells released debut albums in the wake of what would have been unthinkable hype twenty years ago. Long gone are the days when an artist grew their audience organically.
Last year Japandroids were one of those bands whose very success depended entirely on the existence of the internet. The Vancouver based band seemed to come out of nowhere with their debut "Post-Nothing." The band's fist-pumping brand of indie rock - emphasis on the rock - caught on, and eventually the mp3-only album found its way to vinyl and cd. By the end of the year the band found themselves enjoying notice on many a critic's "best of" list. It's entirely possible, and probable, that without the internet very few would have even heard their debut album, much less propelled them toward the upper echelons of indierockdom with a spot at Pitchfork and now "No Singles," a 180gram reissue of their first two eps; 2007's "All Lies" and "Lullaby Death Jams" from 2008.
Oddly enough, because neither of these two eps were widely known before "Post-Nothing," and because of the sound of each, "No Singles" conjures those days of old when crate digging was the preferred method of uncovering the buried treasure left behind by your new favorite band. That old school vibe and the thrill of discovering lost gems is a big part of the charm of this record. It's kind of like listening to Archers of Loaf's "Speed of Cattle" after being blown away by "Icky Mettle" (sorry if you are too young to have missed that experience). Archers' debut, "Icky Mettle" is the perfect indie rock album, as is Japandroids' "Post-Nothing." Since a fan can't help but be excited when they discover that their new favorite band has a back catalog waiting to be explored, fans of "Post-Nothing" will not only find a reason to be excited by the prospect of "No Singles", but will also find more than a few nuggets to celebrate here.
Songs like "No Allegiance to the Queen," and "Press Corps" lay the groundwork for what was to come with "Post-Nothing." Both songs are early examples of the stripped down rock anthems that would make up that record. What is more interesting about "No Singles," though, are the songs that find the band searching for their sound, the songs that sound like someone else, but still thrill. Live favorite "Darkness At The Edge of Gas Town," is a prime example. Darker and more epic than anything on "Post-Nothing," the song sounds like something that might have emerged out of the Midwest in the wake of the Pixies back in the early 90s. It's heavy in both sound and naked emotion. Think early Afghan Whigs, but with less groove and more noise. Highlight "Sexual Aerosol" comes close to what would eventually become the band's sound, but it also owes more than a tip of the hat to bands like Seam and Superchunk. Then there are punk and post-punk barnstormers like "Lovers/Strangers," "Avant Sleepwalk," and "To Hell With Good Intentions." They may not add too much to the development of either the band or punk, but they provide more than enough fuel to fire up the listener. One of the most interesting nuggets here is "Lucifer's Symphony." Like "Gas Town," it is a dark and epic track that finds no corollary in "Post-Nothing." The track combines the post-punk influence evidenced on many of "No Singles"' tracks, with early 90s proto-grunge indie rock of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. It's undeniably powerful and intriguing, leaving the listener to wonder if the band will ever incorporate this kind of bleak intensity into their post-"Post-Nothing" sound. It could be a hell of a thing if they did.
"No Singles," is ultimately a fan album. For the most part, it's enjoyment is proportionate to one's appreciation and knowledge of "Post-Nothing." It isn't that these songs aren't really good, many of them are, but they are the sound of the band still searching for its voice. Now that Japandroids have found that voice, and become one of the most invigorating rock bands playing today, the majority of these songs are best appreciated in the context of the band's development. Make no mistake though, songs like "Lucifer," "Aerosol" and "Press Corps" are exactly the kind of tracks that made all that crate digging back in the day so rewarding.
"No Allegiance To The Queen" live
"Heart Sweats/Darkness At The Edge of Gas Town" live
"Lucifer's Symphony"
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