Spanish Love Songs released their third record Brave Faces Everyone in February of 2020, a darkly funny time to put out a breakout album of punk anthems about how — at the risk of either overstating it or putting it too simply — the world is terrible and life is hell. The songs lamented America's broken healthcare system, out-of-control rents, failed drug policies, income inequality, climate apocalypse and many such reasons for hopelessness and despair. And that was before the pandemic exacerbated that by, like, a thousand. The music itself was fun, upbeat and rousing — essentially a cross between pop-punk icons the Wonder Years and the Menzingers — and it felt cathartic to hear singer Dylan Slocum turn that doom and gloom into punk poetry. Like when the only answer to severe nausea is to grip the bowl and puke out your guts.
The L.A.-based band's fourth album doesn't necessarily dial back the existential dread — it's literally called No Joy, like, come on — but it does repackage it with… hope isn't the word, but let's go with purpose. Spanish Love Songs looked at their previous effort to rally their base around communal misery and thought… now what? After all, group therapy isn't a pity party. The point is to move forward, to live your life better than you did before, to heal.
That only goes so far if the music doesn't hold up, but fortunately, Spanish Love Songs' personal growth is accompanied by serious musical growth, too. Their sound itself hasn't markedly changed, but the arrangements are more considered. For one thing, they've learned that there's more in them than power chords through a cranked amp. The rhythm section of bassist Trevor Dietrich and drummer Ruben Duarte dutifully keep the songs grounded while the rest of the band fills the remaining space with warm acoustics, melodious guitar licks and all sorts of atmospheric textures; keyboardist Meredith Van Woert finally gets to shine here.
One of the main criticisms you could have levelled at Spanish Love Songs' previous albums — other than the supposed whininess or irrefutable doomerism — was that their songs tended to all sound more or less the same. Even their biggest fans would have to admit it. But that's harder to argue here; their songwriting is noticeably more varied, and they've worked in influences from new wave, indie rock and Americana without being overly obvious about their reference points or straying from their established identity. "Pendulum," for example, owes its sound more to something like Band of Horses or Silversun Pickups than anyone in the pop-punk realm. Produced by the band and Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Illuminati Hotties) and mixed by Carlos de la Garza (Paramore, M83, Best Coast), No Joy sounds far more artful and ambitious than anyone would have expected from this band a few years ago.
These improvements to the band's sound bolster the strength of their resolve. If Brave Faces Everyone was about just scraping by, No Joy is — despite its title — finding some form of happiness, whatever it means to you. On the rousing opener "Lifers," they offer a lifeline to anyone feeling the hopelessness that they've articulated all too well: "Do you think that we'll outrun it? / Get past the pain of simply being? … It's never adding up / But don't write yourself out of the equation." Lead single "Haunted" is a synth-driven bit of heartland rock not unlike the War on Drugs, as Slocum urges you, whoever you are, not to live your life as if the best part of it is already over: "You're not haunted / You just miss everything / You're not a cautionary tale, so don't you vanish on me." On the dynamic standout "Clean-Up Crew," Slocum sings about trying to make peace with growing up and managing your own expectations in life: "Fuck the garden and the yard / You can barely tend to your own dreams / Maybe a big life isn't meant for us / We'll settle down on a quiet street and hope we don't give in." After the album's four-song opening punch, Spanish Love Songs show even more versatility. They burn embers on "Middle of Nine" and "Mutable," slow, sombre ballads built on drum machines, weepy guitars and deep ambient textures. Halfway between those, "I'm Gonna Miss Everything" hums along with an electronic beat and arena-rock bombast, taking a page out of the Killers' playbook.
It's the mid-album cut "Marvel" that offers the record's quasi-tagline: "Stay alive out of spite." No Joy isn't about becoming naively optimistic or even about smiling through the pain; it's about taking it all in and still refusing to give up. Every song feels battered and bruised, but not beaten. Amid the swirling final crescendo of "Rapture Chaser," it feels like Slocum is talking to himself as much as anyone else: "The pain is everywhere if you go looking / The pain is everywhere saying 'come find me' / The pain is everywhere, so why are you searching?" Maybe it's all a little bit overdramatic, sure, but it's worked for them so far and it sure works now.
With Brave Faces Everyone, Spanish Love Songs showed that they could hang with the best of their peers. Since then, they reaped the rewards with lucrative tours supporting the Wonder Years and Rise Against. Now with No Joy, the punk scene's resident doomsayers are carving their own path in order to come out on top. In a world that often feels like nobody can win, Spanish Love Songs are doing what they can to feel victorious.
(Pure Noise Records)The L.A.-based band's fourth album doesn't necessarily dial back the existential dread — it's literally called No Joy, like, come on — but it does repackage it with… hope isn't the word, but let's go with purpose. Spanish Love Songs looked at their previous effort to rally their base around communal misery and thought… now what? After all, group therapy isn't a pity party. The point is to move forward, to live your life better than you did before, to heal.
That only goes so far if the music doesn't hold up, but fortunately, Spanish Love Songs' personal growth is accompanied by serious musical growth, too. Their sound itself hasn't markedly changed, but the arrangements are more considered. For one thing, they've learned that there's more in them than power chords through a cranked amp. The rhythm section of bassist Trevor Dietrich and drummer Ruben Duarte dutifully keep the songs grounded while the rest of the band fills the remaining space with warm acoustics, melodious guitar licks and all sorts of atmospheric textures; keyboardist Meredith Van Woert finally gets to shine here.
One of the main criticisms you could have levelled at Spanish Love Songs' previous albums — other than the supposed whininess or irrefutable doomerism — was that their songs tended to all sound more or less the same. Even their biggest fans would have to admit it. But that's harder to argue here; their songwriting is noticeably more varied, and they've worked in influences from new wave, indie rock and Americana without being overly obvious about their reference points or straying from their established identity. "Pendulum," for example, owes its sound more to something like Band of Horses or Silversun Pickups than anyone in the pop-punk realm. Produced by the band and Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Illuminati Hotties) and mixed by Carlos de la Garza (Paramore, M83, Best Coast), No Joy sounds far more artful and ambitious than anyone would have expected from this band a few years ago.
These improvements to the band's sound bolster the strength of their resolve. If Brave Faces Everyone was about just scraping by, No Joy is — despite its title — finding some form of happiness, whatever it means to you. On the rousing opener "Lifers," they offer a lifeline to anyone feeling the hopelessness that they've articulated all too well: "Do you think that we'll outrun it? / Get past the pain of simply being? … It's never adding up / But don't write yourself out of the equation." Lead single "Haunted" is a synth-driven bit of heartland rock not unlike the War on Drugs, as Slocum urges you, whoever you are, not to live your life as if the best part of it is already over: "You're not haunted / You just miss everything / You're not a cautionary tale, so don't you vanish on me." On the dynamic standout "Clean-Up Crew," Slocum sings about trying to make peace with growing up and managing your own expectations in life: "Fuck the garden and the yard / You can barely tend to your own dreams / Maybe a big life isn't meant for us / We'll settle down on a quiet street and hope we don't give in." After the album's four-song opening punch, Spanish Love Songs show even more versatility. They burn embers on "Middle of Nine" and "Mutable," slow, sombre ballads built on drum machines, weepy guitars and deep ambient textures. Halfway between those, "I'm Gonna Miss Everything" hums along with an electronic beat and arena-rock bombast, taking a page out of the Killers' playbook.
It's the mid-album cut "Marvel" that offers the record's quasi-tagline: "Stay alive out of spite." No Joy isn't about becoming naively optimistic or even about smiling through the pain; it's about taking it all in and still refusing to give up. Every song feels battered and bruised, but not beaten. Amid the swirling final crescendo of "Rapture Chaser," it feels like Slocum is talking to himself as much as anyone else: "The pain is everywhere if you go looking / The pain is everywhere saying 'come find me' / The pain is everywhere, so why are you searching?" Maybe it's all a little bit overdramatic, sure, but it's worked for them so far and it sure works now.
With Brave Faces Everyone, Spanish Love Songs showed that they could hang with the best of their peers. Since then, they reaped the rewards with lucrative tours supporting the Wonder Years and Rise Against. Now with No Joy, the punk scene's resident doomsayers are carving their own path in order to come out on top. In a world that often feels like nobody can win, Spanish Love Songs are doing what they can to feel victorious.