Japandroids, Cadence Weapon @ Tut’s, 24/5/12

A few words about Cadence Weapon: his is my first experience of the Edmonton based Rollie Pemberton, and though initially the music seem a little clichéd and unoriginal given the wider popular hip-hop sound, which they fit pretty neatly, but they turn out to be fairly entertaining for their troubles.

Pemberton has a fairly standard rhythm and flow, but his playful use of metaphors and popular culture is reasonably refreshing, laid upon the backdrop of stark, Odd-Future harkening low-end beats.

Set finale ‘Loft Party’ gets the biggest response of the night, capping off a pretty successful performance.

There is a tendency for two-piece acts to sound a bit like two guys jamming in a bedroom without much restraint or concern for songwriting.

Japandroids are often pretty guilty or brilliant at this, depending on ones view on them.

Their set is full of youthful abandon but they are extremely limited where other bands like No Age use said limitations to their advantage.

Japandroids are full of excellent patter and warm stage presence but too often sound terribly dull for a band full of punk rock energy.

A major problem is the fuzzy, toneless guitars which attempt to do two jobs and end up doing neither (where bands like Titus Andronicus do).

The drums and vocals are equally unimaginative in these songs, which wander but lack bite.

For a couple of songs where they are at their best (for instance drummer David Prowse led banger ‘Rockers East Vancouver’), there is an unrivalled energy to them which seems unimpeachable, particularly to a lot of the young crowd who are clearly enamoured with the Vancouver duo.

However, there is a distinct lack of creativity to many of their songs that tread a familiar and frankly well worn ground.

They are a band who tick many boxes and will not care what old hacks like me have to say about them, but there is just something simply lacking from their set to get truly excited about.

Words: Adam Turner-Heffer