JOYOUS WOLF 'In Between'

JOYOUS WOLF
In Between
Blue Grape Music

MTV made a huge announcement this week about its annual Video Music Awards event.  For those who have not yet heard or read, the company announced this week, it has removed the “Best Rock” category from its yearly awards ceremony.  That change is massive as it makes top brass at MTV (which really has not even deserved to be called MTV for ages ever since dropping music videos from its daily programming) look like they have no respect for the genre any longer.  That is because as AC/DC front man Brian Johnson once famously sang, “Rock and roll ain’t noise pollution/Rock and roll will never die.”  He was right.  While executives at MTV may think they don’t need rock anymore, they could not be any more incorrect.  There is so much great rock out there, including Joyous Wolf.  Having formed in 2014 during the rise of what is now known as the “New Wave of American Classic Rock,” the band released its debut album, In Between this week via Blue Grape Music.  Having come roughly six years after its then latest release, its EP, Mother Rebel, this 9-song record is a welcome return from the band that is also a welcome addition to this year’s field of new rock albums.

The band’s brand-new album -- released Friday -- proves it success through its musical and lyrical content alike.  From the beginning to the end of the album’s 36-minute run time, the compositions performed throughout the album throw back to the glory days of pure guitar rock while also continuing to carve out the band’s place in the current rock realm.  Case in point is a song, such as ‘In Your Shadow.’  Clocking in at just over four minutes, the bombast from this song harkens back to the sound that made (and in some parts of the world continues to make) hair metal so beloved.  Audiences can hear influences of bands, such as Ratt, Motley Crue, and others of that ilk in this fun arrangement.  At the other end of the spectrum is a song, such as ‘Fine By Me.’  Maybe it is just this critic’s own ears but front man Pedro Cordeiro’s vocal delivery style here is so similar to that of the late great Chris Cornell.  That alongside the bluesy guitar riffs makes for a song that is so wonderfully modern in its presentation.  The same applies to the album’s penultimate entry, ‘Talk To Me.’  At the same time, that song boasts its own identity separate from ‘Fine By Me.’  Those two songs are their own works separate from the rest of the album’s entries, for that matter, making for even more engagement and entertainment.

On yet another note audiences have a song, such as ‘The Mechanic,’ which closes out the album, that is entirely unlike anything else on the record.  Where most of the musical content featured throughout this nearly 40-minute record is a mix of modern classic rock, this song is more grunge than classic rock.  Keeping that in mind, the Chris Cornell comparison with Cordeiro is even more obvious.  It really gives hope and maybe a picture for what could be to come from Joyous Wolf, should the band finally receive the support that it deserves.  When it and the rest of the album’s entries are considered in whole, they make the overall musical body of In Between a solid starting point for the album.

Building on that foundation is the record’s lyrical content.  Lacking lyrics to reference there are plenty of holes and in turn room for interpretation.  In the case of a song, such as ‘In Your Shadow,’ the lyrics that can be deciphered sans those lyrics hint at perhaps a sense of cynicism about trying to live up to someone else’s expectations of one.  This as Cordeiro sings, “I tried so hard/To live in your shadow” before asking in the chorus, “If I live or I die/How would you know/Could you know?”  In the chorus’ refrain Cordeiro adds, “It’s ok/I’m fine/You’re so kind.”  Again, herein is a seeming sense of getting to that point of realization of how much of one’s life was spent trying to live up to those expectations, uselessly and pointlessly.  If in fact that interpretation is somewhere in the proverbial ball park, then it is a message that is sure to resonate with plenty of audiences.

Looking at another of the album’s entries, ‘Talk To Me,’ listeners get something a little bit clearer in what comes across as one of those familiar songs about relationship issues.  This as Cordeiro sings in the song’s lead verse, “Can you spell it out for me/Did I take more than I give?”  He adds later, “Talk to me/Tell me that I’m wrong/Come on/And talk to me/Tell me why you’ve gone away…Why don’t you care/Talk to me/Pick up the phone.”  Again, some of the lyrics here are difficult to decipher sans lyrics, but the seeming topic is relatively clear here.  In the song’s second verse, Cordeiro adds, “My spirit’s willing/But I’m tired/Why won’t you/Take it all away.”  That questioning line is someone asking that other person why they will not take away all of that uncertainty in the relationship’s troubled moment, it would seem.  Again, if this interpretation is right, then it makes this another familiar theme and story that is sure to resonate with plenty of audiences.

On yet one more note is a song, such as ‘Runaway,’ makes for its own lyrical interest.  According to guitarist Blake Allard himself, the song is, lyrically, “a relentless anthem built for the chase.”  The song’s lyrics certainly do depict a chase scene that maybe could be seen in any number of action flicks.  This is illustrated pretty clearly as Cordeiro sings in the song’s second verse, “It’s certain death/When the asphalt kisses your head/Don’t try and fool me, son/I ain’t playing fair/There’s no denying/My face would cause a riot/I’m good for a brawl/I might get lucky.”  This is a clear antagonist-protagonist setup.  He further adds later in the song, “I’d rather meet your God/Than be your dog.”  That is a hard hitting line that sends its own message to that other person; a message that the “chaser” maybe does not care about what happens in the fight with the other person.  It adds even more impact to the song’s overall lyrical presentation, needless to say.  The whole of this song’s apparent lyrical topic works with the other lyrical items examined here (and that whole with the rest of the album’s lyrical content) to make the entirety of the album’s lyrical picture just as interesting as its musical presentation.  To that end, the overall content featured throughout the album makes for reason enough to make this record worth hearing.

Keeping this in mind, the sequencing of that overall content and the production thereof puts the finishing touch to the whole.  The sequencing of that overall material ensures that things change up just enough from one song to the next to keep things interesting.  The production is mostly a success.  This even as much of the lyrical content is, again, somewhat difficult to comprehend sans a lyrics sheet.  That aside, the production still pairs with the sequencing to make in whole, a mostly positive general effect for the album.  That general effect, together with the positives of the album’s overall content, makes clear why n Between is a mostly successful first full studio outing for Joyous Wolf.

In Between, the debut full-length studio recording from Joyous Wolf, is a largely successful first album from the band, which has actually been making music for more than a decade.  That includes a pair of well-received EPs.  The record succeeds in part through its musical arrangements, which continue to carry the blend of modern classic rock and homage to the classic rock bands that came before.  The lyrical content featured across the album makes for its own interest.  This, as it seems to address a variety of familiar topics.  The album’s sequencing and production put the final touch to the whole, ensuring a mostly positive general effect.  Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the record.  All things considered they make In Between a record that will appeal to Joyous Wolf’s established audiences and that will entertain new listeners, too.

In Between is available now through Blue Grape Music.  More information on the album is available along with all of Joyous Wolf’s latest news at https://facebook.com/joyouswolf.

4.0 Out Of 5.0