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There are times when you discover a debut release, give it a few honest plays, and simply look forward to what's next. Then again, there's the rare occasion when an album flat out smacks you in the face with sheer brilliance, demanding repeat listens. Such is the case with the self titled debut from Spread Joy. The Chicago group, consisting of some familiar faces from Negative Scanner and Human Beat, were due to play their first show in March 2020. While that moment has been postponed indefinitely, Spread Joy have quietly crafted a future classic.
These ten tracks are a remarkably simple and near perfect distillation of the 'Pink Flag'-era Wire sound - giving way to frenzied No Wave dashes while executed with a speed/precision that approaches hardcore. Oh, and there's no denying that the mix is anchored by the vocal prowess & persona of Briana Hernandez, in a performance evoking visions of greats like Su Tissue and Lizzy Mercier Descloux. Ten tracks in fourteen glorious minutes - as if Spread Joy have synthesized the best moments of the last 40-odd years of punk into one timeless pairing of tracks. If ya think it's too short, you're wrong. Just flip the record over and let the Spread Joy sink in.
Our take: Sam from Feel It Records sent me a digital version of this debut from Chicago’s Spread Joy a few months ago, knowing I would like it. He was right. I usually don’t really get into a record until I can get the physical version on my turntable, but I liked this record so much and it was so suited to the emerging spring weather here in North Carolina that I had to put it on my headphones whenever I went for a walk. Spread Joy’s sound is often angular, bass-driven punk that exists halfway between the Suburban Lawns’s art-punk and the pop-oriented, more English take on that sound that reminds me of anything from Delta 5 to Shopping. Certain songs lean in one of those directions or the other, and the band excels at weaving back and forth between nervier and groovier rhythms. And there’s plenty of pop in the mix to keep you singing along. At only fourteen minutes long it hardly overstays its welcome and is just on the edge of feeling like an EP rather than an album (sort of like Saccharine Trust’s Paganicons). Fans of the aforementioned sounds or similar bands like Collate and Neutrals, don’t miss this one.
These ten tracks are a remarkably simple and near perfect distillation of the 'Pink Flag'-era Wire sound - giving way to frenzied No Wave dashes while executed with a speed/precision that approaches hardcore. Oh, and there's no denying that the mix is anchored by the vocal prowess & persona of Briana Hernandez, in a performance evoking visions of greats like Su Tissue and Lizzy Mercier Descloux. Ten tracks in fourteen glorious minutes - as if Spread Joy have synthesized the best moments of the last 40-odd years of punk into one timeless pairing of tracks. If ya think it's too short, you're wrong. Just flip the record over and let the Spread Joy sink in.
Our take: Sam from Feel It Records sent me a digital version of this debut from Chicago’s Spread Joy a few months ago, knowing I would like it. He was right. I usually don’t really get into a record until I can get the physical version on my turntable, but I liked this record so much and it was so suited to the emerging spring weather here in North Carolina that I had to put it on my headphones whenever I went for a walk. Spread Joy’s sound is often angular, bass-driven punk that exists halfway between the Suburban Lawns’s art-punk and the pop-oriented, more English take on that sound that reminds me of anything from Delta 5 to Shopping. Certain songs lean in one of those directions or the other, and the band excels at weaving back and forth between nervier and groovier rhythms. And there’s plenty of pop in the mix to keep you singing along. At only fourteen minutes long it hardly overstays its welcome and is just on the edge of feeling like an EP rather than an album (sort of like Saccharine Trust’s Paganicons). Fans of the aforementioned sounds or similar bands like Collate and Neutrals, don’t miss this one.