The Joykiller
Static (Epitaph)
by Valerie Lambert
I’ll bet you haven’t heard anything like this before. Joykiller (fronted by Jack Grisham – that’s right, formerly of T.S.O.L) plays infectious, melodic punk rock, and it’s pretty darn good stuff. What makes their sound unique is the addition of keyboards, which gives the music a deceptively soft feel. It’s almost… pretty. Sort of like what the Beautiful South would sound like if their music was sped up ten times faster than normal. But that’s beside the point. Static still has all the energy, and more, that you’ve come to expect from classic punk rock records. It’s guaranteed to make you get up and bounce around your room, no matter how much you may want to just sit there. It’s impossible to resist. What makes this album so great, though, is that I can’t think of anything else out there right now that even comes close to Joykiller’s sound. In a time when NOFX-sound-alikes are springing up all over the place, Joykiller has taken a completely different route. I can’t say exactly which route it is – it hasn’t been taken before, so I think they just carved their own – but I guarantee you other bands won’t be able to find it again. I even read the lyric sheet, expecting to find some sort of flaw with the album, but, no. The lyrics are good, too. Everything is here, the melodies, the music, the lyrics – it’s got punch.