The Joy Hotel - Ceremony Review
Hammy metaphors about boozy nights in sordid spaces to one side, The Joy Hotel have managed to create a world of their own that is as inviting as it is comforting.
I don’t tend to frequent hotels. A brief secondment to Manchester’s finest Holiday Inn on the behest of a well known high street supermarket aside, I have rarely enjoyed the luxury of pillow chocolates and tiny toiletries. When I have had the privilege of a night spent in a monolithic block situated equidistant between the Junction 39 turn off and Wakefield, the concept of joy has often proved elusive. Luckily, The Joy Hotel’s debut offering does more than enough to dispel my prejudices.
A Scottish septet that rose to prominence the old fashioned way, with buzzed word of mouth recommendations and songs that stick with you long after you’ve trudged away from the dive bar, The Joy Hotel have been enjoying a burgeoning reputation over the last couple of years. Sets at TRNSMT, Latitude and The Great Escape have fuelled the hype for the group’s debut offering, which has eventually arrived courtesy of SO Recordings. Recorded live to tape at the infamous Rockfield Studios, Ceremony strides with a confidence that belies the brevity of the band.
This is no troubled night in a Travelodge. Opening pair ‘I Decline’ and ‘Forever Tender Blue’ guide you from the lobby to a leathered throne sat perfectly adjacent to the hearth, a glass of deep red ready and waiting to be enjoyed along with light lyrical musings that glide over intense emotions with old school grace and charm.
The Joy Hotel waste no time in welcoming you into their cinematic world. There is a definite throwback element to the sound, almost akin to a remake of a classic film that enjoys the rare success of being able to subtly integrate modern bells and whistles without gutting the heart of what gave the original its appeal. This is not a homage, more of a classic sound reimagined and reinvigorated.
We glide through each of the album’s 13 songs with no break or pause, much like how a tipsy hour can easily spill over into three or four with a blink of increasingly heavy eyes. With ‘Jeremiah’, the triumphant lead single, we move away from the comfort of the alcove to proudly proclaim our three drink fuelled mission statement from the Juliet balcony , to everyone and anything that happens to be in earshot. ‘Black Balloon’ takes us on a slightly woozy stumble back down to the lobby, striding with grandeur and peppered with just the right amount of discordance and doubt. ‘Rapid Eye Movement’ makes us break an expensive looking glass and stumble over our hastily formed comebacks to the smarmy sommelier.
Ceremony manages to tread that rare balance between classic melodies and euphoric instrumentation, presented with a fresh face. It presents a coherent and engaging story, where its 13 chapters are finished in a flash and you’re left eager to go back to the start to see what tidbits and morsels you failed to pick up the first time round. Double header ‘Twenty Three Parts 1 and 2’ are delivered with the earnest concern of the washed up bloke propping up the bar, insisting to the gaggle of youths within earshot that they don’t make the same mistakes he did. Closer ‘Small Mercy’ circles us back to the hearth after a night gallivanting around the premises. You’re weary from experience but wise from its consequences, feet on a stool and head on the ground. It’s a sombre and mature closer to a debut album that has earned the confidence with which it presents itself.
Hammy metaphors about boozy nights in sordid spaces to one side, The Joy Hotel have managed to create a world of their own that is as inviting as it is comforting. Ceremony displays a maturity in its songwriting that is rare to find on debut offerings, the kind of storytelling that is rich enough to lure you in coupled with the restraint that allows you to imprint your own tales onto the soundscapes. It provides the perfect foundation for what should be a long and intriguing career.