No Joy

Five albums deep, No Joy is still awake and alert enough to conduct the train for the foreseeable future. Starting in a more traditional manner; friends sharing songwriting duties, touring together and posting anonymously in the Brooklyn Vegan comment section, something White-Gluz denies – although she did write screamo reviews for www.exclaim.ca in 2004. After the critically praised debut Ghost Blonde showcased distortion-drenched laconic ‘slow punk’ sensibilities, sophomore LP Wait To Pleasure gazed at its shoes even harder while making sure each song was distinct. More Faithful was the last ‘full band’ release, but further challenged expectations and felt like anything but a finale. As No Joy’s identity transitioned to Jasamine as sole full-time member/songwriter, there was a five-year gap between full lengths. From White-Gluz: “The wait wasn’t intentional, but I think rural living made me tune out the noise of the music biz and focus more inwards writing and taking my damn time. Also spending time doing things I didn’t have time to do when I was touring a lot – like learning about birds or wild swimming. I never want to put any music out that I am not fully committed to. I often think “ok this is the last album” and I want to feel confident I’ve said everything I needed to and am proud of it.”

With that in mind, 2020’s Motherhood signified and solidified her voice as a solo artist and her commitment to using shoegaze as a jumping-off point. She never leaves the genre but is never willing to adhere to what she views as a rigid rules. Think of it this way: if shoegaze music is lasagna, the only thing that matters is if it’s layers. Those food floors could be made of anything – the important thing is it’s layered and tastes special.