The joya music.
Joya are a Welsh 5 piece and their debut record 'Get Me On A Road' is a pleasant laid-back introduction to their guitar and brass-led musings. Radio 1's Welsh collective have been firm supporters of the band, and fans of quiet, melodious tunes would be advised to catch a listen.
Early track 'Almost There' features some quality bass lines and strings and the track can be likened to a 1960's soul or even Northern soul stomper, such is the way it spirals away at the end. The fade-out could have kept on going and there would have been no complaints. The song is a highlight of the first half of the record and hints at melodious, uplifting vocals from a by-gone era.
Another apparent influence on the band would be Pink Floyd, in particular the Dave Gilmour tracks, with the style and consistency of the guitar picking being extremely evocative of 'Breathe' from Pink Floyds early 70s output. 'Do Something Good' also features vocals that bring to mind Gilmour's languid style but this may just be because the aural image has been planted by the music.
A few different vocal influences pepper the record with the spectre of Bernard Sumner infiltrating some of the later songs to such an extent that the vocals can easily be mistaken as having a Mancunian twang. It is probably a good sign for a band that there is more than one influence on them but sometimes it may indicate a lack of coherence. It doesn't interrupt the flow of the album too much but there are a lot of elements that combine to make this record.
The horn parts throughout the album comes across very well, offering light relief and at times, acting as lead instrument and pushing the songs on. Given that the most use for a horn section of late but has been for sub-standard cheese filled dance tracks, it's welcoming to see the instrument being used in a proper context again!
Current single 'A Place' is more upbeat than most of the record and is quite a hand-clapper which should garner more radio play for the new act.
The latter tracks on the record didn't capture the imagination as much as the first half but overall, it is not a bad debut.
There are a lot of things to Joya that are notable; they have the feel as though they may have some big anthems in them and that some of the chord changes and lazy melodies could easily catch onto a bigger audience. 'Where We're Going' is bound to be a lighter-moment if the band ever gets to a sizeable audience.
An over-riding feel of the record is of the quirkier, acoustic tracks on The Beatles White Album. With better timing, 'Get Me On The Road' may have been a great accompaniment to the end of Summer, start of Autumn but it should still stand up for itself as we head into the dark days and nights.