Labels: Count Your Lucky Stars – sncl
Review by: MH
“We all die alone” – what an opening line to an album. Joie de Vivre split up a couple of years ago but got together again to make this record and even played a UK tour. The gig I went to in Peckham earlier this year was one of the best things I have seen in a long time. This album picks up from where “The North End” left off with its lyrical content and perhaps a bit more kick than before – see opener “At Least I Tried” for a healthy dose of energy and fight. Brandon gets to really belt out some of those lines like that superb opening line. The lyrics on this record are typically personal and full of themes such as regret, nostalgia, longing and disappointment but also a sense of defiance with lines like “I’ve finally decided to be proud of myself” and “We’ll finally learn to love what we do” to name but two. One of their strong points is the way that so many lines in certain songs jump out and have so much power when he sings them out. Standard, repeated choruses are not a feature of this record but the singalong lines are plentiful and you can hear how much they mean when Brandon sings them. I really like the way he sings “I wanted to become a writer” at the end of “I Was Sixteen Ten Years Ago”. I think it’s the passion and heart with which he sings it, and also the connection with having wanted to do or be something different at some time or other in your life. Musically you have the beautiful twinkly, American Football and Mineral-influenced stuff in abundance as well as some noisier and louder parts. The trumpet work is sublime and really complements the rest of the music and vocals – such a smooth fit. There is also the considerable bonus of Lindsay Minton’s backing vocals on the record as well as Keith Latinen from Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate) on “I Guess Not”. It’s quite a short album and clocks in at less than 26 minutes yet they still find time for lovely meandering within those short songs. The building of those twinkly moments leads to some hitting of heights across the album and there are too many for me to pick out a favourite song. In short, Joie De Vivre are at the top of their game and it’s great to have them back. It’s like they’ve never been away and this album is fantastic – beautiful sounds, heartfelt lyrics and capable of hitting all sorts of emotions in its words.