The last time No Joy played Richmond they not only garnered praise for their opening set at the Wavves show, but also raised some eyebrows offstage.
“We were partying and somehow set off the fire alarm in a Hilton hotel,” says band co-founder Jasamine White-Gluz. This time around, they promise to keep it chill. Though, we’d have to forgive them if they got a little rowdy considering the success they’ve had in the past few months following the release of their third album, “More Faithful.”
Gluz says they’re just excited to see Wolf Eyes who will also be playing The Extravaganza, alongside current tourmates DIIV. We suspect another alarm might get pulled.
No Joy was formed in 2009 by Gluz and Laura Lloyd. The two exchanged songs via email and eventually played their first show with Grant Hart of Hüsker Dü. A big moment came when they played a gig with Best Coast and lead singer Bethany Cosentino proclaimed their awesomeness to the world in a Tweet reading, “Dude, No Joy is the best band ever. Two hot blonde girls just shredding away. Sooooo amazing.” They’re all still friends according to Gluz.
Indie label Mexican Summer took notice of a few tracks the band had uploaded to Myspace and signed them shortly thereafter. ”Myspace is very important. Keep uploading to Myspace,” says Gluz.
Every article written about the Montreal’s No Joy hints at similarities to My Bloody Valentine. Blurry, piercing and shoe gaze are the usual descriptors, something that they’re less than fond of at this point.
“There’s a lot of lazy journalism, but trying to categorize and fit music into specific genres is pretty stupid,” says Gluz. “We’re a rock band. I’d say we’re as nu-metal as we are shoe gaze,” she adds. The outfit’s strength lies in their live performance.
More Faithful dropped this past summer and marked serious growth, both sonically and lyrically. To just call them shoe gaze is really unjust at this point. This time around, the band spent a lot of time in pre-production, working out every single arrangement before heading out to record.
“In the past our records have been more on-the-fly experiments in the studio but that wasn’t the case here. All the songs on More Faithful had been fully formed and dissected before they were brought into record,” says Gluz.
Producer Jorge Elbrecht decided mid-recording that he was moving out of New York City, so the whole production was moved to Costa Rica where his family is lived. “We stayed at his family century old farmhouse in the jungle on a mountain and finished the album. We would spend like 15 hour days slaving over it. It was rainy season so we couldn’t really explore the country. I think it forced us to focus on the album more,” says Gluz.
Those hours paid off. The finished product is No Joy at their absolute best. A powerhouse of fuzz, but with a distinct rock n’ roll backbone. A delivery of it live is sure to delight and blow out eardrums.
No Joy plays The Extravaganza tonight at The Broadberry with No Joy, Sunflower Bean, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, The Trillions, Jeffery Lewis & Los Bolts, Avers. Doors 5 p.m., Show 6 p.m. $20
