Briefly, an argument for conservatism: Japandroids announced the release of their long—LONG—awaited third album, Near To The Wild Heart of Life this week. It leaves four years between the release of Celebration Rock and their new album's title track. In that stretch there were no new songs, no unexpected releases, not even a rumor of the band going back into the studio.In their time away, Japandroids were writing, recording, mastering, tweaking, and perfecting their new album. They were figuring out how it would look and sound and feel. They were confirming a fucking release date."A few years ago," guitarist Brian King told us, "we decided to make this record in secret, or without publicly saying, 'Hey, we're together making a new record.' I think that's one great thing about dropping off the face of the Earth. We know we're making a record, but it leaves that sense of uncertainty: 'Did they break up?' 'Are they working on a new record?' 'Are they on a hiatus?' And then when you drop the news that you're releasing a new album it's the best."We've grown accustomed this year to artists dropping "surprise" albums. It's no longer surprising. Setting a release date for two weeks from now and then releasing an album in two days is boring.The run-up to Near To The Wild Heart of Life has been suspenseful and agonizing and then hugely, brilliantly fun with a title track that sounded finished and ready. It's a reminder of what was normal, say, two years ago. I miss the Hell out of that.Here, regardless of precise release methods, are the week's nine most significant albums.
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