Red Will – Joy Dimmers

Firstly, Joy Dimmers are so far up my alley, it’s like I’ve dreamt up the band! When I had head noises from different avenues about these guys coming together to work on a project, I was checking almost daily if any little snippets had been posted for what we were to expect. After hearing the delights of All Structures Align’s release in November, being an enormous fan of Sweet Williams and basically anything that’s associated with Wrong Speed Records, the anticipation was real. My expectations were high, and I can confidently say that this record exceeded them.

This record is emotionally charged nostalgic brilliance. It explores the realms of noise and emotions, striking a perfect balance between heaviness and melancholy. Not a single second of the 35 min and 30 seconds of Red Will is wasted.

It consists of dissonant swirling guitars that create textures that slowly evolve, begging to explode. The guitars strike a perfect middle ground between fuzzy shoegaze and post-rock/slowcore beauty. At times, they delve into thick and heavy undertones, almost resembling doom-like riffs, with just the right amount of distortion to make them powerful and haunting.

The vocals on this record are sparse, delicate and raw but always impactful when they’re present. Personally, I’m a sucker for spoken word in songs, and this album offers a great mix of both styles. The vocals are very lethargic which really leans into the pushing and pulling of the tracks which gives the tracks that hypnotic feel. There’s a certain calculated lo-fi abrasiveness throughout the record and something harsh and rugged yet totally beautiful about the production and the delivery which I absolutely adore.

It’s been a while since I’ve found an album that I can listen to on repeat without getting tired. Every time I reach the end, I immediately hit replay because I can’t get enough. And with each listen, I discover something new that gets me in a chokehold and drags me in even further, making me fall in love with this album all over again.

Lucy Foster, 6th May, 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLjl7BGfZf8