Reading up on Joyeria for a bit of background throws up some hints – but few facts.
The name of the man is carefully masked, with only a few biographic clues scattered around the internet.
He’s Canadian, a chess player, and apparently good at sums.
Spotify confusingly states his name is pronounced ‘Pizzeria’.
What his musical stepping off points are is a complex question.
An early track in the set has a naggingly familiar bass riff – and a blank verse poetic diatribe that conjures the ghost of Jim Morrison.
Elsewhere the vocal influence of Kurt Vile is evident.
Some songs shimmer and others create a part-spoken, part shouted sonic wall of noise that pulsates and explodes.
There are hints that Sonic Youth formed part of his record collection, but there are also traces of math-rock (perhaps fittingly for a guy who does numbers as a hobby).
What’s for sure is that this is a set that makes me want to add Joyeria to my drive home playlist so I can get a better handle on the lyrics… which so often fall into the background when hearing a new band for the first time in a live setting.
