japanandroids near to the wild heart of life japandroids near to the wild heart of life

The end result is an album that seems a lot more grown up than their previous two records. After all, the relationship they had forged with their fans over their previous albums was a supportive and understanding one. But it was a risk that paid off in spades. It was a risk given that, in this day and age, disappearing for a long while can often lead to becoming another footnote in history. This lack of pressure gave them the time they needed to really sit back and think about where they were and where they wanted to be. Unlike with Frank Ocean’s feverishly anticipated Blonde, which was constantly teased with new rumours cropping up every other day, there were no expectations on Japandroids to pull it out of the bag. Their third record, Near To The Wild Heart Of Life, is the product of that period of radio silence. They felt they had run out of time making Celebration Rock, trying to capitalise on the runaway success of their debut Post-Nothing, so wanted to work at their own pace this time.

At a time we needed their life-affirming anthems the most, they delivered. They set about testing new material at small shows in Vancouver before dropping their first new track in five years this past November. Had they broken up? Was this a hiatus? Or were they deep into their third record? With no real social media presence, it was all a bit up in the air.Īnd then, like a bolt from the blue, the Canadian duo resurfaced.

Of course, this led many devoted fans to wonder what had happened. After the relentless tour of their second album, Celebration Rock, ended in 2013, Japandroids did exactly that vanishing from the spotlight.

Japanandroids near to the wild heart of life japandroids near to the wild heart of life