Celebration Rock out June 5

Sure, the songs possessed a primal energy and a “damn the torpedoes” take on life that sounded familiar. Except they were new to my ears. And so, the last time I saw Japandroids live I could not wait for the second half of their set – the half where they played tracks from their debut album, Post-Nothing.

Listening to Japandroids’ sophomore album, Celebration Rock, the past week has made me realize the err of my ways. The album, not surprisingly for fans of Post-Nothing, is all about enjoying life’s ride (a la banging your head at Japandroids’ songs you don’t know).

This batch of eight guitar-and-drums blitzkriegs fit the album title to a T. Leave it to two men from Vancouver, B.C., who had all but quit their band a few years ago, to make a record with a life-affirming punk spirit, a slew of “oh-oh-oh” choruses, and a dogged focus on making the present count.

This is the sound of summer. For me, at least.

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