So today, Joy Electric posted the title track of their new album, “My Grandfather, the Cubist”, which comes out May 27th, on their myspace. It’s sweet. Here’s my review of the song:
Opening up with the atmospherics and percussive elements that have become a Joy Electric trademark, the song then blooms into a sweet chord progression with a beautiful, and instantly catchy lead line. The minimalism promised on this record is instantly noticeable and it works incredibly well. It’s like the elements that need to be there to have a full fufilling song are there, but any extraneous elements that might detract from the song aren’t. Ronnie’s non-effected upfront vocals are also noticeable right off the bat. I was very interested to see what these would sound like and they sound absolutely wonderful. They sound very emotional and very fragile. As a comparison point, think of the vocals on the verse of “Write Your Last Paragraph”, and you’ve got your sound.
Basically, this song sounds like a more minimalistic version of the Joy Electric I fell in love with way back in 1997. Based on this song, it seems like this album may be the a return to the “Melody” era of songwriting in terms of chord progressions and lead lines which isn’t a bad thing at all. I enjoy every Joy Electric record, but “Melody” and “We are the Music Makers” are the two records that have had the most emotional impact on me. That said, this song has me more excited for this new Joy Electric record than I have been for any of the recent ones, besides maybe “The Otherly Opus”, and it should be noted I get very excited for the release of every new Joy Electric record. All that said, this maybe their “Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice”, which, like that Starflyer 59 record, fully renews my love of the band and makes me remember all the things that made me fall in love with them all those years ago.
I really don’t know what else to say. It’s a wonderful song and everyone definitely needs to check it out. If you didn’t notice, check out that bitchin’ cover art. Best Joy Electric cover ever? Possibly! May 27th is going to be a good day.