It’s a bug’s life for No Joy

Bugland is the latest LP from Montreal-based outfit No Joy and they are touring it this autumn. And, I’m delighted to say, that Even Butterflies Make A Sound host No Joy at Chelmsford’s Hot Box on Saturday, 18 October. Tickets are selling well and you are advised to secure yours soon so why not head over to DICE now by clicking here?

No Joy are a hugely intriguing outfit and a cracking live band. They formed in 2009 and could be loosely pigeonholed in the shoegaze bracket. But they are characterised by their willingness to incorporate different musical styles. Jasamine White-Gluz is the sole constant member and has collaborated with Sonic Boom, The Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner, and, as you’ll read below, Fire-Toolz.

I still maintain that 2013’s Wait for Pleasure is one of the finest 21st century shoegaze albums (right up there with Slowdive, seriously). And just wait until you hear what’s to come…

Nathaniel Cramp (Sonic Cathedral head honcho)

Will we argue with a person with such outstanding taste? Certainly not Andy Mckay. I’m delighted to say top wordsmith Andy kindly contributed a review of Bugland, which is released today. Please read on below.

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Bugland LP review

Ah. That ‘difficult’ fifth album. Oasis presented us with Heathen Chemistry. However, some groups pull it off. Blur’s fifth was their brilliant eponymous reinvention. REM smashed it out of the park with Document. But the nailed-on future pub quiz triv response will be No Joy’s latest, Bugland, which is out now. 

It’s jointly released via Nathan Cramp’s gloriously wonderful Sonic Cathedral label (look it up if you don’t know, the man only releases things of wonder) and equally exquisite Hand Drawn Dracula (home to the fantastic Tess Parks).

Bugland, from Jasamine White-Gluz and the soon-to-be-ceaselessly busy producer Angel Marcloid, AKA Fire-Toolz, is genuinely, astonishingly good. As in genius good. As in ‘where the hell did that come from?’ good.

If you know No Joy, Bugland builds on 2020’s rather lovely Motherhood album. But it’s not like they’ve just plonked a two bed/bathroom upstairs extension on top of a bungalow. Oh no. They’ve been a bit more ambitious, a tad more inspired, they’ve gone a bit Grand Designs. So the bungalow now has an aural Taj Mahal attached and all that that implies.

Bugland is a thing of utter beauty, of creativity unleashed, of relentless movement, of colour and brilliance.

Andy McKay

Bugland, you see, is a thing of utter beauty, of creativity unleashed, of relentless movement, of colour and brilliance. It’s got more layers than an onion and you’ll be hearing new things in each of its tracks for months. 

On first listen, it’s almost too much, the sound, the nods, the deftness of the composition, the drug-like rush of an endlessly surprising spring of brilliantly executed ideas. The understanding of tone, frequency, genre and placement. It’s a massive masterclass and so I will attempt to break it down for you. I will try to do this without leaving plot spoilers and without a safety net. Drum roll please… 

Garbage Dream House

It opens with ‘Garbage Dream House’. And what a start, instantly a highlight and to my ears hints of Garbage, St Vincent, Danielle Dax, Curve, with what sounds like indigenous Antipodean instrumentation surfacing from the complex layers of cleverly blended soundscapes.

The late Brian Wilson was rightly lauded for his ability to instinctively place optimal sounds exactly where they should be. No Joy are doing that for fun here and throughout – it feels effortless, which is all the more impressive.

Bugland

The title track is ambitious, relentless, it’s dance floor shoegaze, it’s genres cut up, thrown up in the air to see where they land but then brilliantly reassembled and redistributed. Ridiculously clever and then unexpectedly, it’s gloriously anthemic.

Bits

And appropriately enough for a song of such a title, you hear strains of St Vincent, Wolf Alice, Siouxsie, The Cure. MBV. The Cocteau Twins inform a breakdown. It’s brave, it’s all Sonic Youth with pop sensibilities.

Save the Lobsters

Dear God this is melodically strong, the most beautiful production of the album perhaps, an inventiveness that is almost John Barryesque. The soundscape is achingly clever and all earworms, there are more ideas in this one song than most bands manage on an album. Or several albums in Oasis’s case! The vocals sail, they dance on the wind with a playfulness that never lets go of its grip on ambition.

My Crud Princess

Almost conventional in it’s structure, this is a great road trip soundtrack, the song most likely to feature in the coolest current coming-of-age teen drama desperate to show its hip credentials. It has an early 90s indie vibe; its riff-laden themes are like a mantra.

Bather in the Bloodcells

Song title of the year. Best use of flanger of the year. And then it gets really good. No Joy? Trading standards will have them because this is seriously very joyous, managing to mash The Cure, New Order and Killing Joke vibes into something beautiful. Use of sounds and instruments is exquisite. It’s a jaw dropper. 

I hate that I forget what you look like

The references here are Goldfrapp. Siouxsie. Cocteaux. Those synth arpeggios!! No Joy are like magpies, they can switch things up on a sixpence and you’ll be unpicking this song, this album for months. It’s gorgeous.

Jelly Meadow Bright

The attention to detail is wonderful. It’s like something Terry Bickers would have done with Cradle, there are hints of the majestic Levitation. This is the track where you roll one up, pour that glass of red and put in plugs or wear the headphones. It’s almost Middle Eastern before it then takes you somewhere else completely. And when it’s done? Go back to ‘Garbage Dream House’. Do it again. And again. And again.

This is sublime. This is right up there, it’s great music.

Andy Mckay

Final thoughts

This is sublime. This is right up there, it’s great music. And what’s even better, as stated above, No Joy bring this incredible work to Chelmsford’s Hot Box. If you have plans, cancel them. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Accost strangers in the street. Pressgang them if you have to. Sell an organ if you must. But this one, this is unmissable. And they’re Canadian too. Where Europe and America meets in harmony. 

Come on! Let’s go. Bugland is a 15 out of 10 album and you need to hear it.

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Check out the flyer below for the Hot Box show. Not only do we have the brilliant No Joy headlining but also Velveteen and The Trial will be strutting their stuff. And. And! Al Johnson (Alien/Masal) will be on the decks throughout the evening. It’s a hive of musical goodness. You’d be crazy to miss out. Scan the QR code in the image to secure your ticket to avoid disappointment.