Japandroids, one of our favorite new bands, were going to play some highly-anticipated shows in NYC a few months back and we were going to go to every darn one of them. Unfortunately, life intervened and they had to cancel part of their tour. Member Brian King was hospitalized with a life-threatening ailment (perforated ulcer -- ouch!). Most importantly, King is now fully recovered, and happily, we finally get a chance to see these guys do their catchy garage rock thing!

If one could bet on bands in Vegas, bet on Japandroids. They're going to be selling out shows for a good many years. This Vancouver band are a rowdy duo with good intentions - to rock you out. Consisting of Brian King and David Prowse, they do it all dirty in the garage. And sometimes, they'll throw in some pretty melodies just to remind you there is still songwriting at work here.

If all you really need to make the whole underground sing are riffs buried in crunch and a couple of broken microphones, then these two will be the next anointed Kings of the illegal loft-dwelling generation. With only a guitar and one drum set (they both sing... somewhat), they make the music pop with loudness.

So who to compare them to? Well, these guys like McLusky enough to cover them (they're loud, too), and they recently played a show with A Place to Bury Strangers (hey now, they're loud, too!). So think of their sound as somewhere in the middle of those two? Or, just think the Constantines. But think later, right now, you should run out and get tickets for these shows.

Japandroids play The Cameo, on Friday, July 10th, and Pianos, on Saturday, July 11th.