JAPANDROIDS at the Horseshoe (370 Queen West), Saturday (April 3), 10 pm. $15, adv $12. 416-598-4226.
There’s no time off in the busy lives of Japandroids. Ever since the out-of-nowhere success of their 2009 full-length, Post-Nothing (Unfamiliar/Polyvinyl), the Vancouver duo has refused to take more than a 10-day break from touring.
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“Everything has happened so quickly for us. We haven’t really had time to stand back and think about what’s going on,” says guitarist Brian King following a Nashville sound check.
“This is by far the most extraordinary opportunity we’ve ever had in our lives, so we’ve decided to just go for it while we have the chance.”
In the last year alone, King and drummer David Prowse have toured North America and Europe several times, leaving little time to record a follow-up. To counteract this problem, Japandroids are launching a series of 7-inch singles, each containing a new song on the A-side and a cover on the B-side.
“It takes more than a few days to record a whole album, but that’s long enough to bang out a 7-inch,” says King. “If we can do that every time we’re home, then we can keep them coming out every two months or so for the rest of the year.”
Those accustomed to Post-Nothing’s fuzzed-out teenage nostalgia might be jarred by the jerky dissonance of Art Czars (Polyvinyl), the first 7-inch in the series, out April 13. The track was originally slated for inclusion on the full-length but got axed at the last minute.
Mining the vaults has allowed Japandroids to expedite their new-release process. In May, they’ll reissue their two self-released EPs – 2007’s All Lies and 2008’s Lullaby Death James – as a single-vinyl compilation called No Singles (Polyvinyl). Both EPs have sold for hundreds of dollars online.
The demand must come as a shock to King and Prowse. In little over a year, Japandroids have exploded from under-the-radar Vancouver band into Billboard Heatseekers and, most confounding, Juno nominees.
“It’s kind of hard to believe,” says King about the Juno nod. “The same people who think Nickelback has the best Canadian record every year think our record is really awesome. That’s a lot to get your head around.”
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