Splitting time between Montreal and Los Angeles,
female-fronted noise pop group

No Joy
creates a
maelstrom of melody
out of both, with a
layered, fuzzy approach
that incorporates
big, clean riffage
, anonymous vocals hiding in the background, and
a considerable churn
across memorable
four-minute pop songs
.
No Joy
was a band founded on the concept of distance. Starting out as a
collaboration spanning almost the entire length of North America
(co-principal Jasmine White-Gluz briefly took up residence in Los Angeles, while Laura Lloyd remained in Montreal), the duo sent tracks back and forth, and
Mexican Summer
eventually picked them up after hearing two songs on their MySpace page.





Fronted by the
guitar/vocal duo of Laura Lloyd and Jasamine White
, the band convincingly captures the
gloriously fuzzy, effects-covered sound
of the shoegaze era, but escapes being mere copycats by adding a
wonderfully spooky atmosphere
and by writing
hooky, easy to swallow melodies
.





They also vary the sound from track to track (a trick many of the original shoegaze bands never picked up), have a firm grasp of
loud/quiet dynamics
, and show as much affinity for the sprawl of mid-period
Sonic Youth
("Pacific Pride") as they do for the drifting waves of
My Bloody Valentine
("Indigo Child").