Japandroids: "We decided to throw out all our own rules"

With 2009 debut ‘Post-Nothing' and 2012 follow-up ‘Celebration Rock', Japandroids were onto a winner. Both albums captured an elusive resonance; that rawness that makes raucous rock music a passion for so many. Then, in 2013 the band announced they were going to take a break for an undetermined amount of time, an’d the world was unsure if it’ would ever see another Japandroids album again. Which brings us to now: a surprise new tour, and a new album to boot. Their unexpected live stint at the end of 2016 included their first European date in three years, at London’s Birthdays; a show which, judging by the footprints on the ceiling, perfectly summed up the excitement felt by fans. During their set, they introduce the crowd to several new cuts, each of which starts its own fire - but it's lead single (and album title track) ‘Near To The Wild Heart Of Life’ that causes everything to erupt. It's the perfect comeback track: personal, and in essence summarising the journey of Japandroids up to this point. "The idea behind the song is leaving home, going somewhere else out into the world," explains singer/guitarist Brian King. "To do something else, and being fearful or unsure about it but at the same time very excited. I think that’s a concept that’s pretty universal, the idea behind it is something that I feel a lot of people can identify with." The album itself is filled with earnest and rousing tracks. “Hopefully it’s the record they don’t know they want," laughs Brian. The band's core fans have an almost religious devotion. “We feel a real sense of duty and loyalty to those fans," he continues. "It’s pretty special to have people who identify with your music so much and come see you every time you come play in their city, so there’s a lot of expectations for this record." The connection they feel with fans is apparent in 'Near To The Wild...'. The lyrics surmise the feeling Brian has towards the band's energetic and often chaotic live shows: “You called out to me / I sang back to you / and all I remember was the sound baby / of all hell breaking loose." It's a supremely personal relationship. “Trying to create the sense that you’re at a show and that energy and vibe, when we started the band, that’s all we were really trying to achieve," he explains. "To some extent, I felt we achieved that with our last record." ‘Celebration Rock’ left the band at something of an impasse, not wanting to run the risk of sticking to that same formula. “Previously, we just had a way of doing things that was trying to achieve the record that we were always trying to make," says Brian. “We decided to throw out all our own rules this time… once we removed all those limitations we had placed on ourselves, it was an infinite path to walk down."