Apparently this is Too Much Joys first record this millennium and they are back after a 25 year break due to the demands of the bands fans and a successful crowd funding campaign on IndieGoGo, but as I have never heard of them before, they are a new band to my ears and maybe your ears too. The press release contains a quote from everyone's favorite Toe Fucker about how they sniffed the Dead Milkmen while giving them an A- in the Village Voice back in the day, which should be recommendation enough to say this is sprinkled in (Joe Jack) Talcum Powder.
The album opens with Blinding Light Of Love the first single off the album that seems to be a C.S.I. episode set to raging guitars and filtered through social media and snarky lyricism as the bass really drives everything along and the sing along friendly chorus keeps coming back for more.
Uncle Watson Wants To Think is a bit Warren Zeavon goes country indie rock with a tale of a drunken Uncle Watson who rages at all the wrong things in life, while going out with your mum, a nicely askew look at life.
Oliver Plunkett's Head may be the only poppy punk song ever about the last victim of the Popish plot of the 1650's who was hung drawn and Quartered about 4 miles south of here at Tyburn, a good few years before Tony Blair moved into the old playboy mansion beside that old hanging tree. Well it's about time, it follows nicely in the footsteps of Nero Kane singing about Mechthild last year into the category of great songs about obscure catholic Martyrs.
Hair Shirt sort of re-works Combat Rock into a Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper alternative rock tune with all sorts of other twists in it, this will make you play it a few times to work out all the musical steals in it. As you marvel at the lyrics that will eventually make their way to the front.
Pong is a song in tribute I guess to the computer game with a Joan Jett/Glitter band style beat with guitars trying to get you inside the world of Pong with the vocal melody owing a debt or two to Billy Braggs Sexuality in places.
Something To Drink About yes a list song for some of the reasons this lot might have for going and getting shit faced again, I'm guessing they would happily get drunk just for the hell of it, but well this windswept ballad of relationship wrecks and booze is sort of the bands tear jerker, file under drunk and emotional.
Tranq It Up doesn't sound like a Barbies Quaaludes and Valium party to me, but they may be hooked on more modern drugs so they could be on Adderal, Xanax and Clonopin and just about clinging on.
I'm reviewing this song a day late as I took a Snow Day yesterday (Not the day this review is posted) and yes I did decide not to work yesterday, so we could go walking in the snow and have snow ball fights, so I am with them all the way on this, even if Snow days used to be busy at work, these days it ain't worth the effort, so let's go have fun in the snow bouncing around to this tune.
Flux Capacitor pays tribute to Doc Browns most famous invention and the first one that ever worked, as he managed to send Marty Back To The Future, this is a full-on lighters in the air rock ballad that takes the Flux Capacitor and adds a few new uses and meanings for it as we all sway along with our lighters held high hoping Biff doesn't show up any time soon.
Camper Of The Year appears to be about the sort of dweeb who loves to pitch his tent as often as he can, rather than who drives the fanciest camper van, as decided by one of those Pimp My Ride style shows, this has crunchy guitars and good pop-punk dynamics.
New Memories could almost be reading a series of face-book memories posts, but they are about all the mattresses you've ever slept on and how that's affected your relationships, the guitar freak out part is like a particularly wild orgasm, before they plateau a bit and start building this back up and the treachery unfolds.
Not Being You is a closely observed bus ride anxiety attack come song about how we should all be our several selves and they will be the power pop punk band of your dreams for another couple of fun filled minutes.
Shouting Across The Ocean is the song they need to turn it up, as I don't think we heard them at all last time round, so get shouting we might hear you this time, while you come over here and pilfer our guitar lines and drum patterns again.
More of The Stuff I Like is a plea to send them loads more of the stuff they like, go on empty your closets and back rooms and give them loads more stuff as this slowly goes more out to lunch power pop soft lit psychedelic ode to over consumption.
The album closes with Just Around The Bend sort of like Fountains Of Wayne crossed with Sum 41 style catchy as all hell pop punk alt weirdness that needs a super funny/silly video on the lines of Stacey's Mom to turn this into a huge hit on MTV, only of course they are too late for that, but really I hope this song has a parody video with it. It's 10 minutes long, sort of, as the cd goes quiet and then an untitled bonus song about giving them all your money and not paying to play in a cool indie rock style will get you listening carefully to the tale that unfolds and go on give them all your money now!!
Find out more at https://toomuchjoy.bandcamp.com/album/mistakes-were-made https://www.facebook.com/TooMuchJoyHQ http://www.toomuchjoy.com
