Album Review: Seazoo – 'Joy'

“Der Name ist Programm” – German proverb - loosely translated: it does exactly what it says on the tin. Example: Welsh noise-pop outfit Seazoo’s sophomore album ‘JOY’. As the name would suggest, the five-piece return with happiness in a bottle, thirty minutes of fantastic feel-good indie pop. 

Opening track ‘The Pleasure’ sets the tone for the entire record, and the bar high. Fun, quirky beats, a whole lotta creativity, and charismatic vocals put Seazoo on par with the likes of The Vaccines, Arctic Monkeys and (to keep it more 2020) Sports Team.

On 10 tracks, the band take you on a groove-filled tour of the weird and wonderful sounds coming out of their recording sessions - frontman Ben Trow explains: “The main bulk of ‘JOY’ was recorded at Big Jelly Studios in Ramsgate. It’s a large, open, bright and light converted chapel situated on the coast, six hours away from our home in North Wales. This brightness, energy, escapism and break from the typical-way-of-doing-things really seeped into the record; there’s a real light, warmth and positivity to it” 

‘JOY’ is an album made for dancing around the kitchen, might as well perfect your air guitar solo to the infectious sounds of ‘I See Beauty’, start a one-man (or virtual) mosh-pit to ‘Throw It Up’ or simply marvel at the beauty and intricacies of ‘Honey Bee’. Whichever way you choose to enjoy it, Seazoo are saving us all from misery. 

Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven

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