(Mexican Summer 2013)
Wait to Pleasure,
the second album from Montreal based No Joy, sees the band continuing
to look back for their sound, clearly informed by dark, noisy and
ethereal alternative rock from the 80s and early 90’s. They’re
not the first band to look back at that period of music, but display
an appreciation and willingness to move that sound forward, similarly
to their Mexican Summer labelmates Tamaryn, that many acts fail to
achieve. The Four-piece band is centred on Jasmine White-Glutz and
Laura Lloyd, who both share vocal and guitar duties, and it’s their
mix of soft, interweaving vocals and distortion-soaked guitars that
form the core of their sound.
The opener E
has sturdy 6/4 rhythm and a distorted bass that sit at the centre of
the track under twin vocals twist in and out of each other as layers
of guitar build up around them until the track almost falls apart
beneath the noise. The song seems destined to make eardrums ring in a
live setting, recalling the rougher end of Isn’t Anything-era
MBV, whilst the next track Hare Tarot Lies starts with dense
jangling guitars and a drifting vocal hook, before erupting into the
kind of low, fuzz pedal aided guitar riff that could have come
straight out of the early grunge scene.
The album delivers
some immersive dream pop on tracks such as Slug Night,
Lunar Phobia and Wrack Attack, which sees the usually
hushed vocals brought forward in the mix, though still submerged in
so much reverb amongst other effects that they flow in and out like a
slow tide. Blue Neck Riviera takes a different approach to the
other tracks, starting with simple processed drum loop, adding
accompanying percussion, squeezed through delay, and an icy, simple
guitar line. The vocals hang around, semi-intelligible after being
warped by distortion, before the song kicks into double time, imbuing
the track with a jolt of energy that makes you assume No Joy don’t
spend too much time looking down at their shoes.
No Joy finish the
album with Uhy Youi Yoi, a track that could have come
off Slowdive’s Souvlaki, with its hushed vocals and clean
guitars displaying the somewhat cold, but intimate atmosphere similar
to that of the classic shoegaze record. It epitomises the bands
approach, where they display great care to evoke the sounds of that
era but never stray into obvious imitation. Wait to Pleasure
sees No Joy finding their own space ahead of the latest wave of bands
taking cues from 80’s and early 90’s alternative rock, without
sounding like a carbon copy.
Originally posted on figure8magazine.co.uk
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