American Cult Candy
Self-Released, 2022
8/10
The debut from the Memphis rockers Joybomb, these 11 tracks are full of power-pop, alt-rock and pop-punk sounds that fans of Mike Ness, Matt Skiba and Dave Grohl would be wise to familiarize themselves with.
“New Light” starts the listen with bright, melodic guitars to complement the smooth singing, as both calm and loud moments enter with an anthemic quality, and “Twin Hearts” follows with pounding drums, no lack of warmth and buzzing bouts of fist pumping rock.
Further on, “High Crimes & New Lows” showcases the chunky bass, and it’s not long until swirling guitars and frisky drumming fills the busy setting, while “Foreign Affair” trims the pace back with a charming intimacy that’s both pretty and rugged.
“Speak Shallow” and “The Charade” exit the listen, where the former is quite firm, bordering on abrasive, but still retains plenty of soft melody amid the arena rock thundering, and the latter finishes with an initially acoustic track that abruptly bursts into energetic and timeless punk rock.
A punk album at its core with themes of American political and consumer culture present, Joybomb, i.e. Grant Beatty (guitars, vocals, percussion), Adrian Lewis (bass) and Todd Rowan (drums, vocals, guitars, keys) know their way around a powerful, feedback friendly and hook filled tune you won’t soon forget.
Travels well with: Alkaline Trio- My Shame Is True; The Menzingers- On The Impossible Past