Consider following review as a double review, rather than a battle between two EPs. There are not easy to compare, anyway.
No Joy
Series mini releases that started last year with Drool Sucker is continued now with Creep, an album that No Joy present us in the most diverse and most freeing manner. All of four songs here are individual stories, and each one of them is filtered through various influences. Nonetheless, the essence of the band is obtained in shoegaze and psychedelic matrix. The opening track Califone onsets with latino samples, and then it suddenly rises into a melody that sounds like an intersection of New Order and War on the Drugs. Following Hellhole contains more layers, from distorted guitars to the catchy synth sounds permeated with seductive vocal of Jasamine White-Gluz. Obscure Tearing Apart The Dark is a peculiar hybrid of industrial and dreampop, while the closing number Fluorescent Dead is another clash of new wave of the 80s and modern electronic dominated by synths.
No Joy have showed that they are not incarcerated in one genre, rather that they are capable to explore and investigate the never-ending boundaries of music.
Night Moves
After a successful album Pennied Days, a group from Minneapolis made their fans happy in January when they delivered new EP release that turned out to be epic. Members of the band are victorious in their ability to combine vintage pop with cosmic piano, melancholic guitars, omnipresent percussions, strings and dynamic bass lines. Carl Sagan is comprised of title track (previously released on the mentioned Pennied Days) and four new songs. Every new listen allows you to discover new nuances, and the songs sound better and better. Wondering How, six minute long track represents magical mixture of traditional and contemporary sound, while Drum Test sees the band experimenting with electronic. My personal favorite is Lovely, Lately, supported by piano and enriched by folk rock flavors. Altogether, these 26 minutes of music represent a substantial pleasure, and I believe that If you give it a chance, you are not going to stop on one listen.
