Sick Joy — WE’RE ALL GONNA F***ING DIE — Album Review
Post-Grunge | Rock
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
I actually had the pleasure of discovering acidic rock three-piece Sick Joy through a live show at Rossi Bar in Brighton. In the midst of an intimate and cosy little underground venue in said bar, I was able to get a full glimpse into the insanely gritty and engaging sound this band was able to unleash.
Bringing forth flavours of Royal Blood, along with the nostalgia of the 90’s Grunge greats, Sick Joy instantly had that element of accessibility and appeal going for them. But on the other hand, I was beginning to notice their uniqueness, even in that very venue where I had first heard them.
Following that brilliant live performance, I began to listen to Sick Joy’s teaser track for their debut album. Titled “don’t feel like dying”, this was the final teaser track released before the album itself, which has been given the name WE’RE ALL GONNA F***ING DIE. Given that I was aware of this album’s imminent arrival, I wanted to wait for the release of the full album to sink my teeth into the other tracks. Besides which, I knew a fair amount about how the album was going to sound already from that aforementioned live performance.
And fair to say, my expectations were surely met by Sick Joy’s grindingly badass rock sound, one that pushed that accessibility that serves as a good attribute to have for a debut album. My surest verdict, if I were to pass my feeling in a short sentence to someone else in conversation about this album, is that any rock lover needs to give WE’RE ALL GONNA F***ING DIE a listen; they would certainly enjoy what it has to offer.
This debut record carries all of the moods that one can expect from a good rock record. There are the anthemic tunes that the aforementioned “don’t feel like dying”, “rich hippies” and “nothing better”, the sinister, gritty and modern sounding tunes like “talking to the drugs”, “stay numb” and “the blood and the bliss”, and the clear grunge influences in tracks like “sadisfaction” and “belly aching beast” (honestly, this track sounds like it could’ve come straight off of Nirvana’s In Utero). We even get a more slow-burning and dark-sounding track in the form of “alive on the inside”.
As I repeat, it is a very solid record, by merit of its accessibility. And on top of that, there are inklings of that live feel that I can still gather from the album as a whole. Going forward, I would, however, love to see Sick Joy push the experimental boat out a little further, and begin to carve out their own identity as a band a bit more clearly. But as it stands in 2022, with Sick Joy still being a fresh band in my mind, I will certainly keep my eyes and ears peeled for any more material (and of course any more live shows).
Favourite Tracks: talking to the drugs | belly aching beast | sadisfaction
Least Favourite Track: deep dream
SO Recordings | Silva Screen Records
