Japandroids perform at Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on Saturday, April 3, 2010.Ryan Enn Hughes/The Globe and Mail
It's an album that starts with the sound of fireworks — but when they released Celebration Rock earlier this year, Vancouver duo Japandroids could never have anticipated the skyrocket that was to come.
In 2012, the duo was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and named band of the year by Spin, and the album landed on some esteemed year-end lists, including Rolling Stone, Uncut, Paste and Forbes.
Known for their high-energy shows, the band has been touring non-stop and packing ever-larger venues, including two sold-out nights at New York's Webster Hall; so the pair hasn't had the time to absorb the accolades.
"We've been touring so much this year — and when you're living in a tour bubble and your primary concerns are the show that night, everything in the day leads up to that," guitarist and singer Brian King says from the road outside icy Saskatoon. "So to tell you the truth, it hasn't really sunk in yet."
But Mr. King expects the good news will start to register once he gets a few weeks of downtime, which is coming after what will no doubt be a raucously celebratory homecoming show. Then it's off to Asia, Australia and South America to tour. .
So what's on Japandroids' wish list for 2013? "It's been one adventure after another this whole year," says Mr. King, who is looking forward to catching up on sleep and logging quality time with his cat, Memphis, before jetting overseas. "So next year I just hope it's more of the same."
Japandroids are at the Rickshaw with Mac DeMarco on Saturday (liveatrickshaw.com).