Ollie Moyles, frontman of Dublin’s Oh Joy, talks to Harry Ó Cléirigh about the importance of honesty and integrity, recording live and their upcoming EP, Joy For All.
Oh Joy seamlessly marry emphatic yet controlled croons with grainy guitar lines, which are served well by an ever diligent rhythm section. Authenticity and honesty are obviously virtues being striven for here as every line is evenly weighted, with nothing overstaying its welcome. Frontman Ollie Moyles himself identifies this honesty as a key objective for Oh Joy: “As a songwriter, I am influenced a lot by Father John Misty at the moment. I think his songwriting is so painfully honest but delivered in such a nonchalant way, it’s awesome”.
Though Oh Joy’s music is considered and articulate, it never feels restrained. On their track ‘Dead Bee’, the reverb-drenched, grainy guitar, the studied, well-delivered tenor vocals, the animated drums and prudent bass lend the music a sense of scope often deemed to be beyond the means of a three-piece outfit. Oh Joy strive to maximise the effectiveness and impact of their instruments. “I think when you play as a three piece you have to really focus on what your instrument brings to the party,” Moyles explains. “When you play guitar, you need to focus not just on what you play but how you can play it to get the most out of it. Likewise with bass. We always try and not be limited by being a three piece.”
“We try and take the same approach to everything we record, authentic and raw, which we hope will be noticeable when the EP Joy For All comes out.”
Moyles admits that his vocals take from a canon of confessional, soulful songsmiths – among them Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley – which is evident not only in the sense of urgent honesty communicated by vocals but also the in the dissonant and dormant darkness of Oh Joy’s noise-rock leanings: “We are all heavily influenced by noisy bands like The Wytches and Girl Band, but then we also love the likes of Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith, so if you can imagine a meeting point between those two extremes, we are probably somewhere in there.” This alt-rock outfit draws on the sensibilities of lo-fi, garage rock and grunge outfits and manipulates them uncannily but still manages to remain elusive of any genre descriptors.
The approach to recording that Oh Joy take further reflects the band’s drive towards honesty, with the band feeling best equipped to accurately capture their sound in live recording sessions: “Everything you hear in the song was recorded live, except for the ending. It would have been a mistake to edit that song and change it. We try and take the same approach to everything we record, authentic and raw, which we hope will be noticeable when the EP Joy For All comes out.”
Oh Joy will perform their launch gig on the 8th of April in the Bello Bar.
Advertisements