Vancouver group Japandroids have announced details for third album, Near to the Wild Heart of Life, the band's first release in five years.
Speaking to CBC Music, singer/guitarist Brian King and drummer Dave Prowse reveal the five-year span between records was a much-needed break for the duo, who played 200 shows in more than 40 countries following the release of 2012’s critically lauded Celebration Rock.
“We didn’t want to tell people we were recording, we weren’t tweeting about it or send any updates, and we didn’t book any shows. We were just going to be working on the record until it’s done,” says Prowse. “And then when it’s done we started figuring out the other stuff like letting the world know we’re still a band.”
“I think the cool thing about that is that when we actually started telling people we have a new record, it’s done and it’s coming really soon. If a new Japandroids record excites you, you don’t have to wait that long until you hear [new music] and then the record,” adds King. “It’s kind of like the opposite approach to Frank Ocean: he announces a new album and then blows deadline, blows deadline and when it actually comes out two years later fans are frustrated.”
Recorded “clandestinely” in Vancouver, Toronto, New Orleans, and Mexico City between 2014 and 2015, Near to the Wild Heart of Life takes its title from Clarice Lispector's first novel of the same name. According to the press release, the eight-song album is intended to be split into two storylines: “Side A (songs 1 to 4) and side B (songs 5 to 7) each follow their own loose narrative. Taken together as one, they form an even looser narrative, with the final song on side B, 'In a Body Like a Grave,' acting as an epilogue.”
Speaking of the radio silence over the past three years, King boasts, “The thing about saying nothing at all is some people assume you’re broken up or on hiatus, people don’t really know. And I think that that sense of mystery makes the way we rolled this album out all the more exciting."
“For everyone who thought we broke up, this is great news."
Tracklist:
1. "Near to the Wild Heart of Life"
2. "North East South West
3. "True Love and a Free Life of Free Will"
4. "I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner)"
5. "Arc of Bar"
6. "Midnight to Morning"
7. "No Known Drink or Drug"
8. "In a Body Like a Grave"
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