No Joy

After releasing their second full-length, Wait for Pleasure, earlier this year, Montreal's No Joy have put together a fleeting yet revelatory 12-inch just in time for their European tour in November. Opening with "Last Boss," the trio flash their truest pop moment to date, allowing Jasamine White-Gluz's blithe voice to flutter. Normally the band would submerge the vocals in loud walls of distortion, but hearing this progress, however briefly, demonstrates different avenues the band could travel in the future. "Starchild is Dead" is more analogous to their previous material, maxing out the Super Fuzz pedals with blustery gusts of noise, and then descending into a dizzying patch of delay and reverb. Final track "Second Spine" is almost crystal clear by comparison, once again promoting White-Gluz to the forefront, but supporting the vocals with a more complex rhythm that defies your standard rock beat. White-Gluz mumbles something of a jubilant chorus, and though it gets lost in the layers, her playful cadence signals that No Joy are just beginning to show us what they're capable of.