“It’s a rock show not stand up comedy. I hate when bands banter and it’s unfunny, and we definitely wouldn’t be funny, so why bother.”
There’s no messin’ with the fiery front women of Montreal noise-pop three piece No Joy. Having previously stated shoegaze music as a heavy influence on their sound describing the genre as “porn for guitar players”, you can be sure to expect to hear lots of effects, pedals, multi-layering, whirling, swirling and shredding in their music. This can be dangerous territory for some, if not equipped with the know-how with which to manoeuvre such a plethora of sounds. However the band’s sophomore album Wait to Pleasure is a smooth, carefully and masterfully crafted tapestry of soundscapes filled with dense layers of grungey guitar riffs and hazy skewed vocals that will put any of those shoegaze misgivings to rest.
We chatted to Jasamine pre-Whelan’s gig next month about creepy album titles, pervy producers and Miley Cyrus.
Hello Jasamine! So, I’ve read you recorded your debut album Ghost Blonde by yourselves using just a practice space and some cheap mics. How did recording Wait to Pleasure in a studio with professional equipment and a producer this time around affect the recording process and the sound of this album compared with the first?
They were completely different creative experiences. Recording Wait to Pleasure we were able to take the time to mess around with different tones and sounds where as on Ghost Blonde some of those are just live takes that we recorded. We had made a record in between Ghost Blonde and Wait to Pleasure that we scrapped because we just didn’t like it. At the time we needed a challenge and a new creative environment and working in that particular studio at Mexican Summer (the band’s record label) was the solution.
What did you learn from working with multi-instrumentalist/producer Jorge Elbrecht during the recording of Wait to Pleasure?
I can’t even begin to explain how important Jorge is to this band. He helped us be a better band. He gave us honest advice when we needed it. He definitely showed us so many studio tricks and made me think about song writing differently.
Also he’s a pervert.
On that note, the name of the album Wait to Pleasure is quite provocative – it’s a perfect balance between creepy and seductive. Where did that name come from?
We were ordering a guitar pedal from one of Jorge’s contacts in Japan and the guy didn’t know English so he was Google translating everything. He signed off one email “I can’t wait to pleasure you” and we thought that was very creepy and hilarious and it just fit.
I know your drummer Garland was a late addition to the band. How did No Joy form originally between yourself and Laura? Did you know each other previously and what was it that made you start making music together?
Laura and I have known each other for almost a decade and have played music together in different bands before. Montreal is a pretty small city so everybody kinda knows everybody.
How did the addition of a drummer and a bassist change your songwriting process? Is it a collaborative effort or does a specific person usually come up with an idea, a riff or a lyric to base the song around and the rest of the band will then build around it?
We don’t have a permanent bass player. We are a three piece in the studio and a four piece live. We all write individually and then bring in our own songs so that the others can build on it. Garland plays drums but writes songs too.
We all try to emulate our favourite guitarists when we start out, can you name some guitarists and bands you were listening to in those developmental stages? Anyone in particular you would say you learned a lot from?
The guitarists in Smash Mouth, Lit, Sugar Ray, 311…all these icons had an influence on us.
In your live shows there is no audience interaction, your faces are often hidden behind your hair and the lyrics of your songs are also often ambiguous. Do you intentionally keep the audience at arms length?
It’s a rock show not stand up comedy. I hate when bands banter and its unfunny, and we’d definitely not be funny, so why bother. The songwriting process for me is a very personal one and as a band you are sometimes expected to divulge everything to the audience. Its important for me to keep some things about the band private because the songs weren’t written with the intention to be shared, at the root they were written because we needed to express something. So keeping the lyrics private is just a way to keep one piece of the music for myself and nobody else. Also its really great to read how people interpret the lyrics, the songs can have different meanings to different people and I think that’s cool.
What are some bands you guys have been listening to over the last year or so?
Macklemore, Katy Perry, Avicii, Miley Cyrus.
Ye same here at Totally Dublin. Although, in between swinging off wrecking balls and spinning cupcakes off our tits we’ve spent a lot time listening to the new My Bloody Valentine album that came out earlier this year. What did you guys think of it?
I wont lie I cried when I heard it for the first time. Like everyone else I think I was waiting for this for a long time and it lived up to all my expectations.
What’s next for No Joy?
Touring, touring, touring and then hopefully taking a nap.
No Joy play Whelan’s on the 2nd of November.
Words: Roisin McVeigh
