Joyful Noise bill themselves as a ‘party band for quirky ears’. The band has succeeded in proving this to be a spot-on assessment with their fun-filled debut album, Cocoloco.
Trying to choose a single driving force on this record is impossible. The bass, guitar and drums all meld together to make the perfect storm of rhythm, each holding their own and contributing an equal amount of finesse and style.
The album is a sprawling five tracks, each track driven by instrumentals alone. There is a very clear presence of a jazz and blues influence, but the trio keep things fresh with a more modern twist. The fusion results in an unpredictable listening experience. Songs will change pace with little notice, keeping you on your toes. It’s fresh. Exciting.
‘Gimme D’dart’ is a good example of this change. The first half of the seven-minute song feels bluesy and improvisational but halfway through the song shifts gears completely. It takes on a more decidedly rock twist with building guitar and an angstier mood. If you weren’t paying attention, you might think you were listening to two different songs.
Everything about this album is just pure fun. The title track, ‘Cocoloco’, plays with a bit of synth for the opening and sounds straight out of a retro video game before easing back into a melodic pairing of bass and guitar. The band doesn’t dip too far out of the confines they’ve set in place, but just enough to keep things interesting.
Even the track titles are playful. ‘Quantum Fish Sticks’ somehow encapsulates the erratic nature of the song while being completely nonsensical. Then again, there really isn’t much else to expect of a band that has so perfectly captured their own essence with a name like ‘Joyful Noise’.
The band has plenty of festivals and shows in the coming weeks to promote their new music. Catch them this weekend at ‘ExtravaBANDza‘ in Saint John, and check their website for future dates.