4.5 stars out of 5
Many will claim to have been there, but I genuinely was: the debut performance by Joy Cleaner at Newark, New Jersey’s Index Art Center on February 27, 2016. That in less than a year and a half, the trio has put together such an accomplished album — released on one of the world’s most respected indiepop labels, Jigsaw Records out of Seattle — is truly impressive. Total Hell is packed with sharp lyrics, undeniable melodies, and confident playing.
The sticks click, and lead track “My Psychic Dent (Is Acting Up Again)” kicks off with the lines “We had to scream so loud/over the karaoke crowd/Another night, my head is in another cloud.” In the yearning chorus, bassist Kyle Wilkerson’s voice reaches up to another register — which on first listen evoked some band from Liverpool — as he admits to “shaking like salt tonight.” It’s a minute and a half of pop perfection.
The cleverly titled “Disposable Outcome” ups the rock quotient a notch. “A temporary fix to a nonexistent problem is all you could come up with,” guitarist Joey DeGroot sweetly sings, with Wilkerson providing harmony vocals. DeGroot contributes a concise guitar solo, and the song concludes with insistent drumming from Cory Billemeyer. (Billemeyer has the cool look of an Amish kid who went on Rumspringa and never came back.)
Joy Cleaner is the rare young band that isn’t afraid to slow down their tempos. While their live performances are marked by punk energy, Total Hell features several gentler tunes. On “I’m Not From Some Other Dimension,” there’s a charming catch in Wilkerson’s vocals that recall Evan Dando. And on your “ba-ba-ba” score sheet, you can check off this one.
After “Poisoned (Purple Teeth Version)” bops along, an acoustic guitar introduces “Moving Backward,” with verses sounding like a battle between folk and rock. (Who will win??) Next up is the album’s lively first single, “Fuck Up and Run,” its title a nod to Liz Phair. You can see the fun video here.
“Ritual Dogma” seems like a lost track from the softer side of Unrest, with a windswept chorus. Next, Wilkerson begins “Impossibility for Me” with the couplet “Every time you and I run into each other, I need to throw a hundred down onto the bar/And if I don’t loosen up enough to turn you my way, at least the walk to my house isn’t very far.” We’ve all been there.
DeGroot handles another low-key number, “No One Before You,” which brightens up during the chorus. And be careful, scorekeepers, that’s a ba-da-da, not a ba-ba-ba. The album ends with the indiepop clatter of “Worm.” It’s a joyous clean sweep for the kids from Bloomfield, New Jersey.
Joy Cleaner just played in Albany, and I wasn’t paying enough attention to realize it in time.