Long Branch/SPV, Suburban) (label)
26 February 2016 (released)
12 February 2016
After touring in Europe the US and Africa over the course of a gargantuan 450 shows [approximate] in three years, Dutch rock outfit Birth of Joy return with their latest album, Get Well
You would imagine that it would take plenty of energy and verve to survive the stresses and strains of those monster tours. Well rest assured that Birth of Joy have energy and verve in abundance, if Get Well is anything to go by.
If you have ever wanted a blues, meets psychedelic, meets Prog rock, coupled with a moody discontentment with the world in which we live, then this could be the album for you.
The LP’s organ filled second offering ‘Meet Me at the Bottom ‘angrily laments a self-absorbed technology lead stupor that society finds itself in. We then find our way to the gloomy isolation of ‘Numb’.
The singer, Kevin Stunnenberg complains:
” this place is haunting us, it left us numb, all these walls keep closing in no matter how fast we run.”
This theme of dissatisfaction and crusade for change continues to be preached throughout the majority of the record. Apparent follow-up to the sentiments of ‘Numb’, ‘Those Who Are Awake’, roars “we demand the new state before it’s too late”.
Further down the line, ‘You Got Me Howling’, literally howls at the non-believers, in a rather nonplussed fashion “Go ahead enjoy your ride,” as Birth of Joy’s brand of frenetic rock takes the ear for that promised journey.
Even for those that may perceive this as over-the-top doomsday style preaching [a little like Muse you might say] the mixture of blues and prog, flavored with a hint of punk and psychedelic rock should be enough to keep even those critics satisfied.
Most of the songs allow lengthy pauses, if not flat out instrumental breaks. This really allows for the quality and the rock out moments to shine through. Meet Me at the Bottom’, yields arguably the best and most rocking break of the album, while ‘ Midnight Cruise’ provides both a rest from the doomsday theme and the most authentic blues rock experience of the set.
The trio has put together a sound that somehow manages to be imposing without being overbearing. Every song melodically speaking, is bright and turbocharged with energy, and it’s this that makes the album truly worth it.
Essential tracks
Meet Me at the Bottom
Midnight Cruise
You Got Me Howling
Hands Down
