There’s always a part of me that likes to just go and listen to the same old stuff that I’ve been listening to for the past fifteen years, but then there’s a part of me that wants to find new music. While Joywave is not a band that has just entered my life, I have waited a few weeks too many to listen to their latest outing, Possession. Let me tell you, this record rules! Unlike a few of the last albums I’ve listened to, this one slapped all the way through, and that is quite the accomplishment!
Joywave have consistently been putting out excellent alternative rock records since 2015, and Possession is no exception. This new outing fits in nicely with their current catalog of songs, but they still aren’t afraid to tweak their sound on certain tracks. Nor is vocalist, Daniel Armbruster, hesitant to reach all spectrum of his vocal range. At times on this record, his voice goes from soft and small to bombastic in an instant. Sometimes I get nervous when I hear things like that recorded, because I always doubt that it can be replicated in a live setting. I’ve seem Joywave perform a handful of times, and they NEVER disappoint.
Back to the album itself, like I said to start, this thing slaps from beginning to end, and I mean that sincerely. Not one single song made me cringe or feel bored in any way. The pace was solid, and there was a nice peppering of more mellow songs in with the fast-tempo songs I’ve known them to play. My favorite songs off the album come back to back with “Coming Apart” followed by “Half Your Age.” What’s strange is that they are both so different, but work following each other on the album. They are both more intense and upbeat compared to some, like “Mr. Eastman” and “Like a Kennedy,” which I also really enjoyed. There were really no songs I found less-then or disappointing in any way. What a fantastic listen! So that means you should listen, too.