(2022) Joys Union Group - Boredom Euphoria
Review:
Joys Union Group’s ambient grooves are not out of line with the long-toned meditations of Neil Lord’s Future Museums, nor are they so completely different from Michael C. Sharp’s electro-dreaming Sungod. But if you’re here to check out the side project of a guy in industrial Uniform or hardcore Impalers (both also Sharp), you may be in for a surprise. This Texas collective spins out airy, head-nodding abstractions wrapped in bright clouds of tone. There’s a flute blowing in from one corner, a guitarist jacking a riff up to support humid sonic miasmas, even drums to move things gently forward, but these tunes exist in an edgeless eternal now. Adjust your frequency to its calmest, clearest setting to tune in. “Cloud Paint,” for instance, drifts into view like a sunrise clearing the fog, slow-plucked arpeggios tracking spirograph patterns in the tranquil atmosphere. A trumpet-like sound lifts upwards out of tremulous, impressionist tones, but the tune is as still as a mandala traced in sand. The title track is slightly more mobile, splintering crystalline Friday Night Lights guitar tones over rolling tremors of cymbal. But this is not all “Om” and breathing exercises. “Fragile Chrysalis,” about half way in, is a jolt and an explosion, firing off drum rolls and exploratory sax runs like flares into the night sky. It gathers itself for a crescendo over and over until blasts of agitation, too, begin to sound calming. “Laughter in the Sky” hazards a tambourine jangle and bucolic bursts of flute (that’s Kristine Reaume). It’s as breezy and carefree as the last Bibio album. “Portrero” flirts with Spanish guitar. And yet the overall effect is lulling, lovely on its own terms, but hard to focus on. You find yourself drifting into sun-dappled, flower-scented places, happy enough, but liable any minute to give up and let your eyes close. Who knew boredom and euphoria were right next to one another? — dusted
Track List:
01 - Cloud Paint
02 - Boredom Euphoria
03 - Shimmering Surface
04 - Portrero
05 - Fragile Chrysalis
06 - Laughter In The Sky
07 - Fig
08 - Wiser
Media Report:
Genre: ambient, jazz, psychedelic rock
Country: Austin, Texas, USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
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