Joy

Formed by longtime friends Daniel M. and Matt S., Joy began as an acoustic duet in 2002. Their self-titled debut, a half-hour of folky 4-track twangling, offers subtle compositions that warble beneath idiosyncratic vocals—and fits comfortably into the Shrimper Records catalog.



Hatred and Grief, Joy’s self-released sophomore effort, captures the band (at this point a quartet including guitarist Ariel Rabinovic and drummer Matt Dodge) dabbling in country music and higher fidelity. Integrating 8-track and studio recordings, it delivers a more complex sound without compromising the DIY spirit of the band’s earlier work.



Devil’s Blues was recorded digitally (mostly) in the band’s basement rehearsal space and at New Alliance East (Boston, MA), Shrimper’s proper follow-up to Joy finds the band experimenting with instrumentation and lyrical themes. The result is a more focused, more dynamic album than the previous two.



In 2006, The band worked with director Jonathan Bekemeier (whose resume includes music videos for the Pixies and Buffalo Tom) on a video for the third track off Devil’s Blues, “Tiger’s Paws", the results of which can be seen a little further down the page.



After the departure of elec. guitarist Ariel Rabinovic, the band released the "Sailing Days" EP, featuring the re-adaptation of a couple of songs from it's previous two Shrimper releases ("Tiger's Paws", "Sex") as well as a few new songs and interludes. The stripped down 3-piece line-up for this album was augmented by Joey Chang - cello and Eric Provonsil - mandolin (Ariel Rabinovic does appear playing banjo on the song "Blue Light" and on one of the musical interludes).



The band is currently on hiatus from live performance and is in the process of writing songs for future recording projects. In the meantime, Matt Savage and Matt Dodge are currently collaborating together in a yet-to-be-named project and should have an album out soon with live shows to follow. Dan Madri is currently recording and playing in the guitar/drum duo Gondoliers.



To date, Joy has shared the stage with Lou Barlow, Daniel Johnston, Holopaw, the Fruit Bats, Dr. Dog, and Scout Niblett.



width="425" height="350">



>