Introducing: Japandroids

Name: Japandroids
From: Vancouver, British Columbia
Story: Two dudes playing loud
Sound: Two dudes playing loud

There are only two dudes in Japandroids, but they play loud as many. When guitarist/vocalist Brian King and drummer/vocalist David Prowse got together at the University of Victoria, their goal was to make their two-piece sound like a five-piece band. Their debut album, Post-Nothing, accomplishes that: King's blazing riffs and Prowse's cymbal-smashing drumming turned up to, like, 12.

8 songs and 35 minutes long, Post-Nothing is stacked with amp-rattling anthems. Listen to "Young Hearts Spark Fire," below, and behold the wonder of their letting-it-all-hang out sound; where King screams "We used to dream!/But now we worry about dying!" like he's teetering on the brink.

After kicking around East Van dives for years, releasing a pair of self-made EPs (2007's All Lies and 2008's Lullaby Death Jams) along the way, the release of Post-Nothing has lead them into the spotlight. With positive press plaudits swamping the LP's initial, small-label run, Japandroids have become one the year's definite breakout acts.

The only thing that threatened to derail their ascending '09 ride was a perforated ulcer. This crazy medical condition befell King, who, in April, was hospitalized in Calgary, rushed into surgery, and laid up for two months; an entire North American tour (including a spot at Sasquatch!) cancelled. Now, convalescence has triumphed, and Japandroids are rolling out on the road for an entire July's worth of shows.

These lead up to the August 4 'wide release' of Post-Nothing. Polyvinyl Records (home of Of Montreal, Architecture in Helsinki, Joan of Arc) has primed the album for an official, stateside, on-180-gram-vinyl re-release; cementing Japandroid's status as band on the rise.

• Listen: Japandroids, "Young Hearts Spark Fire"

Tour Dates
June 30: Omaha, NE - The Slowdown
July 1: Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
July 2: Nashville, TN - The End
July 3: Oxford, MS - Blind Pig
July 4: Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
July 6: Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
July 7: Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
July 8: Washington, DC - DC9
July 10: Brooklyn, NY - Cameo Gallery
July 11: New York City, NY - Pianos
July 12: Boston, MA - Great Scott
July 14: Montreal, QC - Club Lambi
July 15: Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Blues Festival
July 16: Toronto, ON - El Mocambo
July 18: New York City, NY - Siren Music Festival
July 19: Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival
July 20: Des Moines, IO - Vaudeville Mews
July 21: Denver, CO - Hi Dive
July 23: Boise, ID - Neurolux
July 25: Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
July 28: Portland, OR - Holocene
July 29: Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp
July 30: San Diego, CA - Soda Bar
July 31: Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland
August 1: Visalia, CA - Howie & Sons
August 7: Vancouver, BC - Richards on Richards