With the New School Year, We All Need a Little Joy

School has finally reared its ugly head, and as we battle the fierce beast of tests already (even though we have not learned anything yet and that summer homework we did not do is being turned in for a grade), here is a band to help lift our spirits as we longingly remember the good ol’ days of summer just three weeks ago.

May I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, Little Joy! This band is not a “super motivation I am going to go scale that mountain” kind of band, but rather a slow sway type. Though these songs are dangerous to listen to if you are very tired and need to finish 18 pages of notes, they are very calming and good for (much-needed) de-stressing!

Little Joy is a Brazilian-American group formed by some great musicians, including Fabrizio Moretti, drummer for the Strokes (another great band—though definitely not as calming). With a bit of soft rock and samba, this group stands out for their unique genre. The band is actually named after a cocktail lounge in Los Angeles, which is fitting for their sound. When I hear the songs, I think of sitting in the back of a club with dim lights and cigar smoke everywhere sometime in the early ‘90s.

In their only (but magnificent) album, Little Joy (2008), you will hear a wide variety of instruments. They will send you to sleep with a lullaby or put you on a beach watching the clouds roll in over the murky sea water. From the ukulele to the glockenspiel, as well as the organ and mellotron, the diverse and euphonious  patterns will roll into your ears on the back of a slow tide.

Also, another splendid thing in their album is the song “Evaporar,” which is entirely in Portuguese! Not only are the lyrics in that song beautiful (though I have no idea what they mean), but the words put into every song are perfect. This band knows the value of “few words can mean many,” and the instrumental sections in each piece are splendid just the way they are.

Though the band is currently on hiatus, I hope they will get back together at some point and make more wonderful tunes for me to relax to, especially while I frantically finish my summer homework and study for my test tomorrow.

Tuned In is a regular music column written by Michele Haeberlin, Current Staff.