4.5 stars out of 5
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Yes, I’ve seen Bloomfield, New Jersey’s own Joy Cleaner 18 times, not yet counting December 10 at the Pet Shop in downtown Jersey City. And yes, I am thanked in the liner notes of their new album. Oh, so I’m not objective enough to review this record? Man, you’re so jaded!
Joy Cleaner are still recognizable as the indie-pop darlings who delivered their solid 2017 debut, Total Hell. But this follow-up unveils some new tricks. Perhaps most significant is the addition of drummer/band hunk Justin Grabosky (so long, Amish dude) — a talented singer/songwriter in his own right — who contributes more intuitive playing as well as backing vocals.
The boys also prove they can capital-R Rock. Not even 30 seconds into lead track “I’ll See You at Home,” the big Cobain-esque guitar comes out, emphasizing the power in Joy Cleaner’s power pop. The mighty crunch continues in the ultra-melodic “Pink Lite,” a should-be smash hit single.
Guitarist Joey DeGroot’s bouncy rocker “Dramatization,” and later, the gentler, wind-swept “Post-Neurotic,” have been in the band’s setlist the longest, so these tunes seem like old friends to me. Continuing the band’s tradition of clever song titles, bassist Kyle Wilkerson’s “So Much for the Quiet Car” is the sort of textbook indie pop that earned the fellas a slot at the revered Athens Popfest in 2018. And Joey’s “Out on the Balcony” sounds to these ears like a modern cousin of the Fabs’ “You’re Going To Lose That Girl.”
“See Through” is jittery and catchy, while “Bad Advice” is a groover with a soaring chorus. “Phlox” is 95 seconds of urgent pop-punk complete with a quick guitar solo and feedback fadeout. The expansive, midtempo album-closer “Dyson Sphere” is not an ode to a vacuum. Rather, Dyson sphere is an astronomical term for a hypothetical shield around a star. But for Joy Cleaner, there is no such barrier. With songs as strong as these, the sky is truly the limit.
Jack Silbert, curator