No Joy falls into the camp of bands not just updating a style for the sake of nostalgia or lack of imagination, but actually pushing the boundaries of established great ideas.
Wait to Pleasure offers 11 distinct, tactile sensations that are often diametrically opposed yet placed consecutively
This is music for drowsing in the sun, and for getting a summertime party started. It has energy and intimacy. It is dark and happy simultaneously.
Wait to Pleasure is a break for sonic maturity, retaining No Joy's signature narcotic ruts of sound. With the art of studio recording mastered at the first attempt - no mean feat - the record’s a technical success.
It's simply true to genre: fullness of sound, reverby vocals, spacey guitars, constant heartbeat rhythm. Not a second is given away to silence. Everything blends together, almost indistinguishable between voices and instruments.
While not exactly innovative, No Joy at least affirm that they aren't merely copyists of a bygone era, though instead they pick apart the best of it and interpret it on their own terms.
Contrary to the band’s name, there are a lot of joys to be found in ‘Wait To Pleasure’. No Joy have developed from an interesting band, to one to cherish.
Despite some misfires – notably 'Blue Neck Riviera', which features a strange programmed hip-hop beat and a Diiv-style jangle accompanied by some semi-rapped verses – it's an admirable listen.
At times on this sophomore release, No Joy are able to ditch the very things that drove their first album, and still wind up with compelling music, boding well for a potential third LP.
THe beach infused No Joy bring angelic indie singing the likes of warpaint to a blurry shoegaze portrait. This is not your slow shoe-gaze. This is a Beach Psyche infusion.
No Joy's sophomore record starts strongly but soon fades out to blandness with some lackluster song structures and overall songwriting style. The first three songs display the band's best qualities, with some gritty production and progressive tunes that sound a little bit deeper than the one-dimensional songs on the later half. There is nothing that really stands out here, actually, as the band brings out some regular vocal-work, some repetitive structures and instrumentals and very few strong ... read more
A heartily enjoyable slice of shoegazey indie pop, invoking nostalgia while always keeping the listener's attention with warm melodies, bright instrumentation, and more than a few splendid album highlights.
1 | E 5:18 | |
2 | Hare Tarot Lies 3:26 | |
3 | Prodigy 2:36 | |
4 | Slug Night 3:39 | |
5 | Blue Neck Riviera 4:22 | |
6 | Lizard Kids 2:21 | |
7 | Lunar Phobia 3:51 | |
8 | Wrack Attack 2:56 | |
9 | Ignored Pets 2:43 | |
10 | Pleasure 2:05 | |
11 | Uhy Yuoi Yoi 2:44 |