No Joy - Hawaii [video]

A couple of weeks back – or maybe it was longer than that, time is weird – I went to see No Joy at old faithful Tuesday nighter, White Heat. It wasn’t anything approaching busy when they took to the stage but that didn’t matter, least of all to the Mexican Summer signed Montreal duo who play like no one’s watching anyway. Heads down with their long blonde hair tumbling over their guitars, the two women played hard and fast and relentlessly, crafting a strange sort of calmness out of the swirling static electricity. Between tracks they crouched over their guitars or rested them against an amp to intensify the reverb, nixing any opportunity for them to hear us clapping. It was a bold and thrilling yet intensely private gig – an overall feeling that is echoed in this video for the lead single from their debut album ‘Ghost Blonde’ (out May 2nd) that calls to mind the work of Ryan McGinley.