If punk rock keeps evolving, then Joybomb is its latest incarnation.With its unique blend of power pop, alternative, and post-hardcore,this trio of Memphis mashers reels out a steady stream of sonic hooks designed to galvanize audiences and hit them with something new. Equal parts sin and salvation, Joybomb is a stiff shot of clever rock and roll that comes without a chaser. From the very first note, the band flies in hot and sharp, strafing the floor with a barrage of burning riffs that detonate on impact.
Although operating out of Memphis,TN, Joybomb was actually conceived in nearby Starkville, MS where frontman and songwriter Grant Beatty met original members bassist Adrian Lewis and drummer Collin Whitten as early teen punks. There, smack dab in the heart of Bulldog country, the three recognized they shared a similar musical vision and committed their energies to bringing it to life. Initially calling themselves The Jarheads, the trio would later adopt the moniker of Joybomb as a descriptor of both their sound and intent.
The band’s new song, “New Light,” brings their former punk sensibility to a song that is hopeful and invigorating. The groove on here is meaty, the lyrics are uplifting — you really can’t ask for much more. Grant Beatty (vocals, guitars, percussion) told us more about Jobomb’s history and what to expect from their album, American Cult Candy, out on August 26th.
Tell us about this song. Was there an “aha” moment that got you started with writing it? How did the song come to be?
“New Light” began as simply the main half-time revolving hook that persists throughout the song. It was one of the later songs which the band developed that would end up on the album – but it started with just that lick; dropped down and capo’d. I stumbled onto that rhythm and knew it had potential to be a huge song, with that gloriously major-key marching feel to it. The verses and chorus then got fleshed out as I introduced it to Adrian and Todd during practices down in Mississippi. Todd Rowan, Joybomb’s drummer prior to and on the new record, lived in our old hometown of Starkville; Adrian Lewis (former bassist and longtime bandmate) and I would travel down once a week to have practice at my family’s home. We were essentially tightening up or rewriting older songs and carving up fresh ones – “New Light” certainly fell into the latter category.
What was the writing process like? Did the song come easily and quickly, or did you have to work on it for a while?
It’s interesting – with several songs that ended up on the album, the main licks and/or verse-to-chorus sections might have existed for some time until we all lit a fire under our asses to finish them by the spring of ’20 when we were scheduled to hit the studio. But “New Light” – musically, at least – came together rather quickly. As I mentioned, for about six months between 2019 and 2020, we would meet once a week for practice, often twice in one trip for several hours a session, to really chisel away the vision in the marble, so to speak.
“New Light” took off immediately with the band as one of the heavy-hitters on the album. We all felt it had a sense of urgency, recovery, and comradery to it. It’s an underdog story, a comeback-kid theme – an anthem. Seriously, the working title for this song was simply “Anthem” until studio time (ha).
What was it like recording this song in the studio? Any great stories from the studio for this song in particular?
Most – if not all – of the verse lyrics were written in-studio! We knew we had an “anthem” on our hands, and we were firing on all cylinders during that initial week, so words just kind of poured out from pen to paper and created this theme of overcoming adversity, persisting despite doubt, etc. It’s lyrically ambiguous enough to be a fight song for hopefully any listener and any righteous cause, but personally it was a meta exercise in (re)evaluating what WE and I, myself, were doing with this album and with this whole endeavor of being songwriters in a rock band; a tear-it-up-and-start-from-scratch, all-chips-in mentality that helped breathe life back into Joybomb after some years of feeling stagnant. It was a letter to myself to keep going, to keep reaching, and to keep making art for its own sake. Plus the choruses are really fun to sing and we tracked, like, seven guitars or something as to ensure the sonic experience matched the lyrical vibe and hit the same way – to get a banger, if you will.
What made you put this song first in the album running order? Did this song feel like the centerpiece for the album, did its message feel like the album focus, or did you want this to be the “first impression” for a specific reason? How does this song fit in among the songs on the album?
American Cult Candy has its fair share of rage and despair on its songs when broaching subjects of sociopolitical or personal weight, but it’s also not starved for hope, revelry, sweetness, nuance, and pop sensibility. We wanted the first song out of the gate to establish something of the latter; to offer a giant hook in the pocket and welcoming hand to come to dream with us. We considered other songs that “hit” as hard to be album openers, but this one had all the right ingredients to keep ears curious, rocking along, and locked in. That half-time inversion to straight 4/4 in the outro chorus with all those harmonies? *mwah* Magnifico. It had to go first.
Your band’s name is interesting. How did you come up with this unique moniker? What does it mean?
Hey, thanks! Well, let’s take it back to 2014. Many moons ago, the band from Mississippi was known as The Jarheads. The original lineup, myself included, all went to school together, having formed in eighth grade and honed our chops through high school and early college. A buncha young punks, if you ask me. After an EP, two full-lengths, and some growing up, Joybomb emerged as a rebrand; a shedding of an exoskeleton that was inevitable if the project was going to stay alive and evolve. At this point, the music had gotten a little less psych-punk-art rock oriented and more lasered onto hook-laden songwriting. Joybomb as a name was essentially a compromise between members at the time, all recognizing the need to highlight what was our forming, distinctive sound.
How would you describe your music to folks who have never heard it before?
Hm. Joybomb is never one particular sound or feeling, but there are most certainly constants: it is dynamic rock ’n’ roll, usually fast, always cleverly melodic and interesting rhythmically but never enough to elude pop sensibility. I like to keep people on their toes, never quite knowing what they can expect, but without fail delivering the goods that make a solid punk or alt-rock tune – catchy, blistering riffs and power choruses with vulnerable lyrics and vocal melodies to boot. We self-describe as alt-punk, power pop, post-hardcore rock ’n’ roll – nothing half-assed or sleepy about it. Very much a Joybomb.
You can pre-order and pre-save American Cult Candy here. It’ll be out on August 26th.
It’s twin hearts baby!!!