Japandroids

Japandroids' 2009 summer jam, "Young Hearts Spark Fire," is aptly named: As guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse shout, "We used to dream/Now we worry about dying," one can imagine the Vancouver duo's adolescent aortas exploding with the awareness of mortality and adult responsibilities. Rather than obsess over the gloom of the sentiments, however, Japandroids satiate "Hearts" — and the rest of its stunning debut album, Post-Nothing — with the carpe diem lightness of a coming-of-age teen comedy. Post-Nothing plays like Harold & Kumar Go To Pinkerton, a record charged with muscular power chords, wanton punk beats, everlasting evenings and plots to French-kiss French girls, all performed with the gusto of two preteen pals jamming in the garage, too eager to wait for the bass player to show up.