What's with all these hyped-up reviews? I bought into the hype but came away feeling cheated. Garage Rock? Hardly. Or does garage rock suddenly have a new definition that doesn't include the Pebbles, Nuggets sound? No melodies or hooks to speak of. No real Songs. Give me authentic no wave, art punk, or garage rock anytime. The Japandroids just leave me cold ... and angry.

Fantastic album, one of the best I've heard so far this year.

One of the best albums of 2008, garage and powerful noise rock, is really a masterwork as White Stripes's "Elephant", "Young Hearts Sparks Fire" and "Crazy/Forever" are two gems and each one of the songs maybe can be a future classic!

8-track garage debut, that goes a long way to help proving that whatever the genre, all 2009's best records are upbeat and energetic.

A good fun album that contains good honest 'rock' tracks. Its a fun party album (and great for my runs). Thos that have commented on the basic lyrics surely don't get the point?

Fantastic... so simple and stripped down, with easily repeatable lyrics and sludgy, powerful melodies.. this is the kind of thing that gets your heart pumping as you press your foot harder on the gas pedal. please don't compare to no age and wavves... no age is more ambient and relaxed and is nothing like japandroids.. wavves is just some musician who saw everyone else making lo-fi music, and threw together some washed out guitars and high pitched harmonies on garageband with songs about being bored. There is no heart behind wavves (or live show for that matter).. and its surfy.. japandroids ain't surfy.… Expand

A talented band, but....some of the lyrics fall short for me. "Wet Hair" in particular is a catchy tune that turns into lyrics that sound like an 8th grader's fantasy..."must get to France so we can french kiss some French girls" may have looked clever on paper, but comes off childish. Still, the guitar/drums combo. sounds really good, and I'd recommend at least checking out a couple songs if you're a fan of garage rock.… Expand

Tight arrangements that somehow remind me of jazz musicians riffing off each other. Low-fi, muddy sound that is more catchy and melodic than the top 40 playlist on the conglomerate-owned radio stations.

Having been in so many bands, I know it's not always fair to the artist to say "They sound like...", but when they're new, you need a point of reference, so here goes: Japandroids sound like a male Sleater-Kinney (riot boys?) w/ a touch of Pavement & "Flip Your Wig era Husker Du". Lyrics are angst silly, but in a good way. The vocals sound a touch like Jane's Addiction. While it is a great primitive/naive garage rock workout kinda like a B-grade "Crazy Rythyms" by The Feelies, and worth picking up, I can't believe it was rated higher than the Sunset Rubdown album. I'll definitely be watching and listening for their next. The potential shines through.… Expand

Wonderfully crafted lo-fi garage punk. Definitely one of the best albums of the year, for me second only to Camera Obscura's "My Maudlin Career". The song structure and vocal melodies are much better than both No Age and Wavves. Brings me back to playing and going to punk shows with close friends.

Very promising debut album. More substance than Wavves or No Age, and therefore more accessible. Great album for rocking out.

Not only do I love their music, but I love their influences. They cover Mclusky, but they also cite their love for the Chameloens (UK). Two such diverse sounds can only mean sweet pop perfection. I saw them live last week and can say they put as much energy into their live show as it sounds like they do in their recordings.

It's a great noise-rock album and my favorite debut release so far this year. If you enjoy No Age or Wavves, be confident you'll love this.