Sick Joy – Them Days EP (Say Something
Sick Joy - Them Days EP
Records)
Release Date: Out Now
Ever since discovering Brighton
trio Sick Joy recently I’ve become more than a little obsessed so their new EP
is timely to say the least (it’s almost as though there’s some sort of
marketing strategy going on…). Anyhoo, ‘Them Days’ is a belter of a four song
calling card and it opens with the suburban drone of a Saturday afternoon
lawnmower which is soon blasted away by some brutal guitars and drumming that
is as much about energy as it is about precision. On ‘Playing Dead’ frontman Mykl has a
rockstar voice and presence that reminds me of the reasons Gwen Stefani fell
for Gavin Rossdale, backed up by the holy trinity of guitar, drums and bass all
performing with the kind of spirit and intensity that suggests many, many
evenings have been spent in grim rehearsal rooms for the sheer love of the
music.
The provocatively titled ‘Shoot
Your Lover’ is a sub-three minute slice of grunge-pop with droning bass and
guitars vying for space with saccharine sweet melodies and a punchy beat – it’s
almost as those each member of the band has their own idea and this track is
where they duke out their differences (with glorious consequences I might add).
‘Dirty Water’ has an epic feel as the ominous beat and menacing guitars ride in
to view over the horizon and that gravelly vocal is ready to make girls want to
be with the band and boys want to be
in the band (and vice versa, that old standard doesn’t really work anymore does
it?). The EP finishes up with the single that started the affair for me and
‘Vibe Sucker’ makes even more sense as the denouement to this collection.
Lighter and more danceable than the other tracks with a drum sound that makes
you wonder if one of those wind-up cymbal crashing monkeys ran off to join a
rock band, this rounds off a superb EP and the fade out promises even more in
the future….
More information: https://www.facebook.com/sickjoyband/
Live Dates:
11th October – EBGB’s, Liverpool
18th October – Various Venues, Cardiff
19th October – SWN Festival, Cardiff
20th October – Bermuda Bob’s, Norwich
26th October – Live at Leeds, Leeds
27th October – The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
7th November – Think Tank?, Newcastle Upon Tyne
8th November – Attic Bar @ the Garage, Glasgow
9th November – Network, Sheffield
14th November – The Camden Assembly, London
15th November – The Mother’s Ruin, Bristol
17th November – Rock City, Nottingham
20th November – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton