 | Tracklist:
1. Darkness on the Edge of Gastown
2. No Allegiance to the Queen
3. Sexual Aerosol
4. Lovers/Strangers
5. Lucifer's Symphony
6. Couture Suicide
7. Avant Sleepwalk
8. Coma Complacency
9. To Hell With Good Intentions
10. Press Corps
Release Date: 2010 | |
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On 15 Lists
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5 of 5 thought this review was well written
Now here I could go into a paragraph-long rant about Brian King and David Prowse, their debut LP Post-Nothing and how it soundtracked the summers of hundreds of fans who just like Japandroids wanted a ride to Bikini Island, but to be quite blunt if you're at all aware of the Canadian two-piece's prowess you've already heard their story a thousand times over, so I'll leave it at this--- Japandroids are not huge on subtlety. Thus it comes as no surprise that the band elected to name the compilation of their two debut EPs, both of which saw little to no limelight before hitting "out of print" status, No Singles.
While the motives for No Singles' release are relatively unclear (fans will likely have heard the same material from the EPs and the album serves as a poor starting spot for others), it basically serves up ten slices of what we've become accustomed to hearing from the duo. That's more or less to be expected, as the album, despite John Golden's remastering, deviates very little from the original recordings and adds essentially nothing as far as quality is concerned. To be fair, the majority of the cuts would have seemed out of place on Post-Nothing for one reason or another. Structurally No Singles is even more basic than its successor, as the one-to-two minute energetic riffage of "Lovers/Strangers" and "Avant Sleepwalk" prove, but lyrically it's an admitted brief breath of fresh air from the constant "we're young and we don't give a f***"-related themes.
As expected the record is significantly top-heavy, with the songs from Lullaby Death Jams proving more instantly accessible and mature than their counterparts from All Lies. The sugary "Sexual Aerosol" is as close to a "Young Hearts Spark Fire" or "Wet Hair" type anthem that the album gets with its shoutalong, back-and-forth verse of "Things are different now/I am different now." Opener "Darkness On the Edge of Gastown" works well on similar ground, furiously building up to an explosive climax. Perhaps the most notable track is "Lucifer's Symphony," easily the most sinister (and surprising) song the band has recorded. Is it fully developed? No, but it's intriguing and certainly entertaining.
As enjoyable as No Singles can be, it feels a little unnecessary merely three years after Lullaby Death Jams (which ultimately tops it in quality) and unlike many compilations serves as a mediocre way to become acquainted with the band. But what it lacks in motive it makes up for in charm, which Japandroids never fail to provide. Consider this a temporary summer jam, or at the very least an intriguing glance into King and Prowse's past.
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Needed to a do a really simple writeup to get back in the swing of things. Nothing too complicated going on here.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Good review. This is good for what it is, but nowhere near PN.
Digging: The Dopamines - Vices Digging: The Dopamines - Vices | | |
Great review, Romulus, I shall pos
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chambered I'm going to take a leap of faith here and assume you were saying hi to me but missed the m
button so hey how're you doing.
And yeah that basically nails down my thoughts exactly Satellite
Edit: and thank you Conor you beat me to the post
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it was pretty nice, saw some fireworks for july 4th and all and making some popcorn now. phillies lost again though this is getting dangerous
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
OKAY WHY IN FUCK'S SAKE DID BRENNAN BOESCH GET SNUBBED FROM THE ALL-STAR TEAM? SRSLY I WANT TO KNOW.
| | | Album Rating: 4 | Sound Off
lovelovelove press corps
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Press Corps is probably my second favorite on All Lies behind the To Hell With Good Intentions cover
rookie of the year maybe Satellite?
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I'm a huge Tigers fan and might be more than a little bit biased, but I think he's got got ROTY basically clinched at this point, and he's way more deserving than some of the other outfielders selected for the AL.
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could never get into these bros
Digging: Pond (AU) - Beard, Wives, Denim
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i have no interest in listening to this
Digging: Animal Collective - Honeycomb/Gotham Digging: Animal Collective - Honeycomb/Gotham
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post nothing was the shit for me last year
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I'll bet this sucks. Post-Nothing was really boring
Digging: Between the Buried and Me - Colors Digging: Between the Buried and Me - Colors
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"Take your rating of Post-Nothing and subtract one."
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So 2/5
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So yeah probably don't want to listen to this
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Another great review btw, Ryan. Pos'd
I might check this out eventually, but there's more on the go for me atm
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Thanks Gyro, but honestly if you weren't too big on Post-Nothing I wouldn't rush to it. Maybe you'll dig a track or two on the first half though.
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sorry i missed this, but excellent work here rom, seriously
Digging: Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself Digging: Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
| | | Album Rating: 4 | Sound Off
srsly rom srsly
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