An uncharacteristically airy trip occurs on “Moon in My Mouth”, the second single from No Joy’s forthcoming album, More Faithful, out June 9 on Mexican Summer. Although they’ve denounced being categorized as specifically shoegaze, the track continues to explore the genre, separating itself from the Montreal band’s seriously fuzzed out, yet still prettily melodic past releases. Light acoustic strumming and minimally effected arpeggios hardly touch the ground, with a grumbly bass acting as the surface upon which they strut.
Singer Jasamine White-Gluz’s whispered vocal harmonies trickle down over soft cymbal taps, providing a light atmospheric mist, wavering between ash and snow. The song’s power relies not in the tonal ferocity of past releases, but rather in the ambiguity of its emotion, whether blissfully wondrous, or contemplatively melancholy, beautifully backed by seemingly happenstance footing and curious guitar parts. Between “Moon in My Mouth”, and previously released “Everything New,” More Faithful has potential to be No Joy’s most complex and conflicted release yet.
