Upon Sober Reflection: The End of Japandroids
Gimme that night, you were already in bed, said "fuck it," got up to drink with me instead.
There are some bands that I consider myself a season ticket holder to. While certain bands that I’ve loved for a longtime and my fandom has never wavered for will always get immediate listens, there are certain bands that I’ve grown out of or have stopped making music that I’ve liked, but I’ll still give each new album a shot. This is usually made easier when the band goes dormant for extended periods of time, like Japandroids. The team has no retired, and I’ve cashed in my season tickets with Fate & Alcohol’s release.
When “Chicago” dropped over the summer, I was filled with shock and excitement. Japandroids seemed as good as done after cancelling their Shaky Knees appearance in 2022. I’d learned about the internal turmoil in the band, and they seemed like they wouldn’t come back. “Chicago” is an exciting song. It’s anthemic, romantic, and perfect for lifting a beer.
As Japandroids continued to release singles from Fate & Alcohol, some of the excitement sputtered off. The second single “D&T” is gutted once you get to the chorus “Now, I’m drinking and I’m thinking about you.” It’s a rhyme that a sixth grader would write. Even though most of the song’s hard-drinking and fast-paced tempo works very well, I can’t stomach the song. By the time “All Bets Are Off” dropped, the anticipation had died down. The third single isn’t a bad song, but it’s not really memorable.
With Fate & Alcohol’s release earlier this month, I had some of the same feeling back when Near to the Wild Heart of Life dropped in 2017. Unfortunately, I feel like the expiration cycle has come faster. Even though there are moments that I genuinely love on this final Japandroids record, the negative qualities are further exemplified. As sad as I am to bid the Canadian band farewell, I’m also a little relieved to know that I won’t need to listen to another record or seek out a live show, as drummer David Prowse announced that there won’t be any farewell gigs or tour.
I wasn’t someone who saw the magic of Post-Nothing shortly after its release. I’m also not someone who got hooked with Celebration Rock’s 2012 release. I remember learning about Japandroids during my senior year of high school when Celebration Rock dropped. Even though the name Japandroids tickled me, the title Celebration Rock did not. I ignored the record for two years until I was a sophomore in college. By the time that I finally gave Celebration Rock a listen, the band were preparing for the final shows of their tour behind that album, and if I remember correct, they were in their home country. As a college sophomore, I wasn’t in a position to go to see this band.
Despite being late to the party, I got hooked on that record as so many others did. I wasn’t really good at getting my friends to always like the same music as me, but as a 19-year-old who used his fake ID as often as he could, “Younger Us” became my private anthem. “Gimme that night you were already in bed, said ‘fuck it,’ got up to drink with me instead” became a mantra to live by. I would listen to the song on Tuesday nights, before heading to the bar, knowing that I’d be groggily walking to class the next morning.
There’s not a better age to get a record like Celebration Rock than 19. The yearning for the past while slamming ahead full throttle makes you feel like you’re living in the songs that Brian King and Prowse were sculpting.
I didn’t really listen to any of the influences that are so clearly in Celebration Rock’s DNA yet. Bruce Springsteen and The Replacements weren’t really in my musical lexicon yet, and the record was my gateway drug to those sounds. The band fit in very well with the other bands that were making exciting music that was both nostalgic and specific. Bands like The Menzingers and The Gaslight Anthem certainly share a lot of similarities with Japandroids. The only difference is that the Menzos and TGA felt like groups of guys who lit a spark and found magic. To me, Japandroids always sounded like a well-oiled machine, who were programmed to write catchy rock songs. In the years since then, I’ve learned just how difficult it was for them to write each album.
When Japandroids announced that they’d be returning in 2017 with Near to the Wild Heart of Life, I was excited to dive in. It would be the first full album cycle that I would follow. As a recently graduated English major who spent a chunk of his senior year reading James Joyce, it felt like the record made for me.
At that point in time, I was just getting started in comedy. I was spending many nights hopping on the train to do open mics, while drinking my way through the city. I felt like the world was ahead of me. I fantasized about having some girl pull me behind a bar and kiss me like a chorus, before heading on the road to do standup. Even though I was still single, songs like “No Known Drink or Drug” really made me excited about the possibility of falling in love. Still, the cracks were starting to show. “Arc of Bar” was an ambitious piece, but it never really connected in a meaningful way. It didn’t payoff quite as well as songs like “In a Body Like a Grave” or “I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner).”
As soon as the Near to the Wild Heart of Life tour was announced, I bought a ticket1. I’d waited nearly five years to hear these songs live. I wanted to raise a beer in the air as I screamed along to “Younger Us.” I wasn’t jaded enough to hate Terminal 5 just yet, so I went and saw the tour. Maybe it was the venue’s poor acoustics or the simply the fact that I was drunk off excitement and Brooklyn Lager, but I couldn’t support the claims that Japandroids are a bad live act. I had a lot of fun at that show, even if I had chosen the wrong time to grab a beer and went right before “Younger Us” started. I remember throwing my arm around my friend as “Wet Hair” played” and we screamed the lyric about French girls.
As much as I wanted to, I didn’t catch Japandroids on their tour with Cloud Nothings supporting that record, but I did see them again at the Governor’s Ball festival on Randall’s Island in 2018. Drunk off of overpriced Miller Lites, I ran from The Menzingers’ set to Japandroids’ set with the handful of other punks that I’d reunite with during The Gaslight Anthem’s set later that evening. That show is much fuzzier, but I didn’t miss “Younger Us” that time.
In the ensuing years, I made my returns to Japandroids. Most often, I was listening to Celebration Rock, but I also dipped into “Near to the Wild Heart of Life” when I was going running. Occasionally, I’d go back to a banger like “Wet Hair.” When the band announced a 10th anniversary performance of Celebration Rock at the Shaky Knees in 2022, I did genuinely think about making the trip for the fest. When they canceled the performance, I missed the news, and I’m glad I didn’t go.
As I learned more about Japandroids’ backstory, I did think the band had quietly called it quits. Perhaps, they’d reunite in 2032 for an anniversary performance at Fest, but I wasn’t holding my breath. When “Chicago” was released, I was filled with the same excitement that I had when Near to the Wild Heart of Life was announced.
Even though songs like “Eye Contact High” or “Chicago” give me some of the rush that I got as a younger man listening to Celebration Rock, the payoff isn’t as rewarding. Corny lyrics like “D&T” or “A Gaslight Anthem” end up distracting me. Hearing the struggles to hit notes on “A Gaslight Anthem” make it clear that this wasn’t a band who were descended from the heavens to revive rock and roll. It was two guys who found magic and couldn’t recreate it again.
As fitting as Fate & Alcohol is for a title, I keep thinking about how in the Stereogum feature about the band, King mentions he’s gotten sober. This is good, and I’m happy for him. I haven’t drank in almost three years at this point. Still, it makes the title about drinking feel a little forced. Trying to recapture some glimmer of the hope that a pint can give, but admittedly, it doesn’t translate as well while holding up a non-alcoholic beer.
I’m happy that the band has found peace. They seem to be going out where they should. I’m also relieved that there aren’t any final shows, and I won’t feel like I missed out on anything. As the band rides off into the sunset, I realize how I’m ready to start this next phase of my life.
Re-reading this review, it’s comical how little my outlook has changed. I mention how much I loved the song “Younger Us.” I mention throwing my arm around my friend during “Wet Hair.” I complain about waiting a long time to see the band, and I mentioned how when I was a college freshman, these felt like the songs that were the moments I was living. As Craig Finn once said, “Certain songs, they get so scratched into our souls.”
Loved this!