I bought a few CDs today and one that caught my eye particularly was the debut album from Montreal band No Joy. I've just finished listening to it and impressed with the all-girl duo. I think, if you read any review, they'll mention shoe-gazing and My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Hole. It's all true and I won't deny that the influences are all there but there's also the Pixies, Nirvana and more recently the new American guitar sound that the likes of Warpaint, Best Coast and others are creating.
The album starts off in classical shoe-gazer fashion with plenty of reverb, echo and distortion to make the most cynical Sonic Youth emo-type give a little smile and although it lays a marker in the ground of where the band have pitched themselves it certainly doesn't define or constrain them. 'Indigo Child' has a dream-pop like feel to it whilst Hawaii is a droning surf-rock homage (no surprise, given the title). There's not really a stand-out hit on the album but for my money track 8 'Still' is the money shot. The guitars are a bit more jangly, the tune is a bit more of a classic indie guitar hit reminding me in part of the Wedding Present if Debbie Harry was fronting them. My reserve would be the following track 'Untitled' with a really powerful riff running throughout that really is good enough for them to earn the comparisons to their shoegazer forebearers. I'd go so far as to say reminiscent of Jesu or Holy Fuck.
Overall I'd mark the album as 7 out of 10. It's definitely going to take a few listens before I can finally make up my mind but it's certainly refreshing to hear music like this being made that takes you outside your comfort zone and forces you to really concentrate on the music.
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