Japandroids

It’s been nearly five full years since Japandroids released Celebration Rock, a stylish album of insistent, fuzzed-out garage rock featuring “The House That Heaven Built,” a certified alt-rock banger that cemented the Vancouver duo as a force to be reckoned with—and spun on repeat on the indie airwaves for months on end. After some heavy touring on the midlevel club circuit behind that critically lauded album, however, Japandroids effectively fell off the radar. So it’s good to find them back in action with January’s Near to the Wild Heart of Life, whose title track is an early contender for indie jam of the year and a fine return to form. Welcome the boys back on the scene and back to town when they headline Royale on Feb. 20.