Glasgow septet The Joy Hotel release their debut album “Ceremony”. Lead single is the surging and rapturous ‘Jeremiah’. It’s a song that grapples with the idea of approaching unknowns, and how conflicting attitudes illicit different responses to the same situation. More directly, it’s about staring death in the face and choosing how to come to terms with it.
Newly signed to SO Recordings and with a debut album proper in hand, The Joy Hotel have become a word-of-mouth success story in the Scottish DIY scene.
The band spent eleven days at Rockfield, the legendary studio in Monmouth, Wales, recording live-to-tape. When they left, they had a sound. It is often contradictory, in that it combines the song writing sensibilities of pop and country with arrangements reminiscent of the psychedelic scene of the 60s, six-part vocal harmonies with elements of noise rock, beautiful balladry with a sense of humour, and a cinematic quality. The result of those eleven days is debut album “Ceremony”, a record that searches for the profound in the seemingly routine, and reaches out with arms wide open to wring celebration out of each moment.
“Ceremony”, the debut album from this Glaswegian ensemble The Joy Hotel, is a grand musical vision that embodies their growth into a septet, their admiration for vocal groups, and their diverse styles. Across 13 tracks, each with a seamless segue, the band use uplifting vocal harmonies, noise rock and ’60s leaning psych, and whimsical ballads to bring the extraordinary out of the mundane.
The Fat Angel Sings 