People generally associate memories with music. A song is powerful enough to remind you of your first kiss or that time you were punched in the face. The entire process is completely natural and extremely sentimental. When I think of this past weekend in Orlando, my mind reconciles a beautiful collage of Day Joy. Pieces of this collection include Bailey patiently begging for food, wooden rockers on an aged front porch, a banjo resting on a reclined couch, Michael surging his heart out at Stardust, Peter pacing around in his white business shirt and a living room gathered by close friends at 4 in the morning.
A couple of months ago, EARMILK premiered a song from Day Joy's EP " Bone and Bloody". Day Joy is the project of Michael Serrin (member of Saskatchewan) and Peter Michael Perceval. They released their first EP and played their first show, all in the duration of one week. It coincidentally happened during Orange You Glad Fest and my close contact with Peter's life. Peter lives with a cherished mutt named Bailey and his room mates Travis Reed (frontman of Loud Valley) and Artie Burer. All of them are talented musicians (especially Bailey, when she is asked to voice herself) and all of them are best friends. One step into Peter's home and you are immediately welcomed with a drink of your choice. He has a comfortable refuge that compliments his southern hospitality.
In Peter's home, there is a room clustered with music instruments. This is where I imagine Animal Noise was recorded. Animal Noise is the title of Day Joy's four track EP. The record is under 20 minutes of intricate folk expressions. Each song is filled with delicate layers, organic synths, denuded utterances and glazed with Orlando's tropical weather. Collectively, Animal Noise is a wind through Day Joy's personal trials and errors. There is a powerful storm towards the end of "Talks of Terror" when Michael searches for words to make up "you are oh oh ohhh". It reminds me of one of those late night conversations with an old friend and during the middle, you just want to stop time because something unpleasant has been revealed and it is too late to pretend nothing happened. On top of that, Michael's screaming makes my heart drop. The same emotional pull is articulated in "Destroyer" as Michael is repeating whispers of "destroyer, destroyer , destroyer".
With a band support from Adam, Dominick, Travis and Artie, Day Joy was able to build a physical whirlwind at Stardust last Sunday. Their live performance provided an amplified experience to Animal Noise. This was an expected deliverance but "Talks of Terror" literally left me speechless. It's a given that the second track ("Talks of Terror") on this EP is my favorite but what is yours? The album is five dollars on Day Joy's bandcamp. Do yourself a favor and get lost in their music.
