Well isn’t this interesting: just last night I posted about not knowing too many formidable bands capable of dishing the hard stuff and here I am the very next day heralding another righteous two-piece.

This time around it’s Vancouver’s Japandroids that have got my attention. Deservedly so, as these two guys know their way around a crashing and thunderous romp. Made up of Brian King and David Prowse, Japandroids have released two cataclysmic EPs to date. Their latest is a 5 song sonic boom appropriately titled Lullaby Death Jams.

What I’m really enjoying about these guys so far is their ability to deliver an explosive and agitated dose of loud rock while tempering that with inviting melodies and amicable alternating vocals. This is a dynamic that has been present since their 2007 debut EP, All Lies, but has definitely come to fruition on their latest effort.

Of course, back to back posts on hard-rockin’ two piece bands isn’t to suggest overt similarity between the two. In fact, there are some great points of contrasts between HotKid (the subject of Yesterday’s post) and Japandroids. For instance, the former is an excellent example of good ol’ straight-up fuzzy rock while the latter exhibit more complexity in areas like song structure and vocal interplay.

Actually, listening to tracks like “No Allegiance to the Queen” and “Darkness on the Edge of Gas Town” almost invoke the energy of bands like Spy Machine 16, which is a commendable thing for a two-piece to be able to replicate.

In the end I’m going to have to keep my eye open for more duos, as I’m really starting to believe that the two-piece bands are where the rock is at these days.

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Japandroids - No Allegiance to the Queen

Hear more at Japandroids’ Myspace page or grab digital copies of both EPs from Zunior.